Fatherhood, Fingerprints and Flawless Friendships
by Caseyrocksmore
Summary: The Boston ME Office’s employees are back from the crash, & the story continues. Abby’s missing, Bug is adjusting to fatherhood & a mysterious illness is going around. Bug/Lily, Nigel/Kate, Jordan/Woody and a little Garret/Renee later. 40 chapters & a/n.
1. Chapter 1

**Fatherhood, Fingerprints & Flawless Friendships**

_Synopsis: The Boston ME's employees are back from the crash, and there are three fathers in the team now; an old one, a new one, and an expectant one. Abby's missing, Bug is adjusting to fatherhood and a mysterious illness is going around. Mostly Bug/Lily with some Nigel/Kate, Jordan/Woody, and Garret/Abby drama mixed in. And, of course, some dead bodies and autopsies (hey, it's a MORGUE, after all). R&R, pwease!_

_Disclaimer: If I owned Crossing Jordan, it would never have been cancelled. (I would like to dedicate this chapter to my best friend Nicole, for her endless trys to get me to stop writing fanfiction and leave my house.)_

_Rating: T, because of mild language, alcohol mentions, a tiny bit of innuendo, and hints at other stuffs. HINTS. Not descriptive. Nothing a thirteen-year-old hasn't heard before._

**Chapter One: Home and Healing**

The ride in the helicopter was silent except for the whirring of the blades above them. Kate kept Nigel's good hand in a death-like grip, so scared she could hardly move. Garret had passed out; Jordan was hovering over him nervously; and Woody was hovering over both of them nervously. It was just a nervous place, the helicopter. Bug was playing with a set of multi-coloured baby keys, grinning for no apparent reason. Except there was one; he was going to live to see Lily and Madelyn again. They were his life now.

Though it seemed like the ride took forever, it wasn't long before they reached the Boston General Hospital. Garret was rushed into surgery and Nigel to trauma, as he had apparently fractured his arm his six places. Kate refused to let go of his good hand even after they had landed, and followed him like a lost puppy. The others we treated for minor cuts, bruises, frostbite and dehydration, but none of them were very seriously injured.

Lily and Madelyn were the first to arrive at the hospital, to the delight of Bug. She looked tired as Hell, like she hadn't slept since the crash. Bug, upon seeing her, fell into her arms and cried. It was a very rare thing to see Bug cry, but he cried on a much relived Lily Lebowski's shoulder. When Madelyn realized something was happening without her she started screaming, of course, and Bug cuddled her and cried on her, too. It was very emotional, which Jordan didn't get at all. She and Woody sort of just stood in the waiting room feeling a little out of place.

"Is it just me, or have they all gone to the Funny Farm?" asked Woody. Jordan looked at him and shook her head.

"You sure know how to ruin a happy moment, you know." Woody smiled. It was such a Jordan-like response that it felt for the first time since they had crashed that everything was going to be okay.

Nigel and Kate returned before long, Nigel's arm in a big cast, and Kate looking pissed off about something like usual. Nigel said hello to the now-quiet Madelyn, then sat down with Kate across from Jordan and Woody.

**After One Hour:** A nurse walked into the waiting room to retrieve a file.

Jordan asked, "Excuse me, nurse, where's Garret Macy? Is he still in surgery?" Her loud, critical voice probably carried across the hospital.

The nurse nodded, but refused to tell Jordan and the others anything else. So they waited.

**After Two Hours:** "He's still not out yet?" That was Kate this time, when a Doctor passed them.

"Nope, sorry, Miss," was the hurried Doctor's reply. So they waited.

**After Three Hours:** Lily had fallen asleep with her head rested against Bug's arm, which was gently rocking Madelyn to keep her quiet.

Another Doctor walked in, and Jordan stood up. "Is Doctor Garret Macy out of surgery yet?"

The Doctor sighed. "The first one is finished, yes. We've sewed up his lacerated spleen, and are taking a five minute break before we place his broken ribs." Woody looked like he was going to ask something, so the Doctor put up his hand to stop him. "No, he is not conscious." So they waited. And waited. And waited.

**After Seven Hours:** The Doctor returned. He looked tired.

"Update?" asked Bug. Nigel had fallen asleep, too, but woke when he heard voices. Lily was still out like a light.

The Doctor smiled. "He's out of surgery now, but he's still unconscious."

"Can we see him?" asked Nigel standing up and stretching his cramped legs.

"Well, we usually let the family see them first. Are any of you immediate family, or just friends?" Jordan looked angry at his statement.

"Whether or not we have blood in common, we are his family. We have worked together forever, and we're all he's got. So I am going to see him, and stay at his side, just like he stayed with me when I had brain surgery," she said flatly, and walked past him toward the desk. "Excuse me, where is Garret Macy's room?"

"It's room 427, just down the hall."

"Thank you." And she walked down the hall and entered Garret's room. The Doctor looked flabbergasted.

"Does she always do that?" he asked. The group all nodded (with the exception of Lily, who was still sleeping with her head against Bug's shoulder).

"Garret?" whispered Jordan as she approached his bed. He didn't respond, though she hadn't expected him to. The beeping of the heart monitor told her that he was stable. He looked like Hell, but pointedly, he had reason to. The poor guy had been internally bleeding since the crash; which had been hours and hours ago. It seemed like forever. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm here for you. I am always here for you."

She settled down into a chair beside his bed and held his hand. She wasn't sure, but she could've sworn she felt him squeeze her hand back. Maybe it was just reflexes, but Jordan wanted to believe that he had heard and understood her.

"Has anyone heard from Abigail yet?" asked Kate later, when they were all seated around Garret's bed. It had taken nearly an hour to convince the medical staff that they were family and they had to be with him. But it was getting late, and both Lily and Madelyn kept nodding off, so there was a chance that the staff might kick them out of his room soon. Jordan hadn't moved the whole time. She sat next to him, eyes on his face; his hand in hers; hoping, waiting.

"No," said Woody, "The hospital hasn't been able to locate her. And neither have the police." He seemed embarrassed that the police hadn't been able to locate Garret's daughter.

For the umpteenth time Lily's head fell into Bug's shoulder, startling her awake. She sat up and leaned into the stroller to check on Madelyn, then leaned back against her seat.

"Maybe we should make a schedule," said Bug, looking at Lily with concern. "We don't all have to be here the whole time, just one of us. We can take four hour shifts, or something." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Who wants the first shift?" asked Kate.

"I do. I'll stay with him," said Jordan in her serious I've-made-up-my-mind-and-you-can't-stop-me voice, "He did for me. It's the least I can do."

"Fine, but I'll take over in a few hours," said Woody, having giving up trying to change Jordan's mind a long time ago, "You're going to need sleep soon."

"I need sleep now," said Lily with a yawn. She stood up and stretched, and Bug did the same.

"Call me when it's my shift," he said, "I am going home for a hot shower." And with that he took the stroller and left the room with Lily trailing sleepily behind.

"It's great to see those two together," said Nigel and he stood up and stretched as well, "Took long enough, but hey; life's not perfect. But it was rather romantic, Lily leaving her to-be husband practically at the altar for him, and Bug excepting her baby as his own. It's inspiring, really." Everyone in the room (who was conscious) started at him. Woody's mouth was even hanging open.

"What?!" said Nigel, looking around at the room. "It is."

"We thought you didn't want Lily and Bug to get together," said Jordan, "You were always bugging him about it, and about Madelyn." Nigel raised his eyebrows.

"I want Bug to be happy. And he is with his little impromptu-family. It's... cute."

Kate scoffed. "It's not cute, it's sickeningly too sweet. It's all far too happily-ever-after. You'll see, something is going to go wrong and they'll end up as 'just friends' again. It won't last."

"Why aren't you just Little Miss Sunshine," said Nigel sarcastically. Kate made a face.

"Just because your relationships didn't work out, doesn't mean that they all don't," said Bug from the doorway. It was unexpected. Everyone turned to him, and both Nigel and Kate blushed. "Lily forgot her purse." He walked over to where he had been sitting and picked up Lily's bag. "And just so you know, my 'impromptu-family' is the best thing in my life right now. I thought you all knew that." And with that he was gone again.

It was quiet for several seconds except for the beeping of Garret's heart monitor. It was Kate who spoke first.

"Well, that was awkward."

"Shit," said Jordan, "I think you just crushed his little heart." Kate turned to her.

"I didn't know he was standing there. And I didn't mean to. I just said the truth. It won't work out."

"You don't know that," defended Nigel, "You don't know them. They've been in love, or, at least, Bug's been in love with Lily, since we got Uncle Ha-Ha down at the morgue."

"Garret was seeing Lily then, wasn't he?" asked Jordan. Nigel shrugged.

"They were on-again, off-again, I think," said Nigel running his hand through his long brown hair. Kate looked at Woody, who seemed like the only other sensible person in the room.

"Is this making any sense to you?" Woody smiled and shook his head.

"This was before I joined the team."

"I see."

Jordan and Nigel had been talking in the background but Kate and Woody had blocked it out like white noise.

"Well, I'm off," said Nigel, tucking his hair behind his ears. Kate stood up and stretched her tired limbs.

"Yeah, me, too. If I'm going to be back at work tomorrow, I need to sleep."

"Want me to give you a ride home, love?" asked Nigel. "A car rental place is just down the street."

"Since you're the one who got my car stolen, it's only fair that you have to put up with me," she replied.

They left.

"Might as well go home and take a hot shower, change, eat something," said Woody, "You sure you'll be okay here by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. You go ahead."

"Alright then. See you in a few hours."

He left.

After a few minutes Jordan was startled by a voice. "Is everyone gone?" Jordan yelped and looked over at Garret. His eyes were semi-open, and he was smiling.

"Yeah, they are. I told them to go home. That I'd stay with you. How're you feeling?"

"Like someone performed an autopsy on me while I was out," he said, opening his eyes the rest of the way. "You?"

"I'm fine, really. Nigel's arm's going to be okay, Kate's fine, Bug is reunited with his family and Woody is... Woody."

"Sounds like I missed a lot."

Jordan smiled. "Not really."

"Take a left up ahead," said Kate, "and slow down before you get us both killed!"

"Sorry," said Nigel, lifting his foot on the pedal a little. "I'm just still all nervous since the accident. I really would rather not be in a vehicle right now. 'Flying is safer than driving,' remember? So how safe does that make driving, exactly?" Kate sighed and put her hand on his arm cast, since his other arm was on the wheel.

"Are you okay?" she asked. He stopped because of a stop sign and turned to her with a mixture of shock and appreciation lining his face.

"I suppose. Are you?" Kate shrugged.

"I suppose." He kept driving. "Just a little emotional, I guess. We nearly died on that plane."

"I was so scared when you weren't beside me after we crashed. I mean, one moment you were there holding the chair like a life line and mumbling something, the next you were gone and my arm was ripped open and all busted. But it could have been so much worse."

"Yeah."

It was quiet until Nigel's car pulled up into Kate's driveway. She smiled at him and undid her seatbelt.

"Say, Nigel..." Nigel looked up.

"Yes?"

"Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?" she asked. He raised his eyebrows at her, and she smiled uncertainly back.

"Um, sure." She undid his seatbelt for him, and they got out and started to walk toward her house. Nigel, a little behind her, grinned.

"Rock-a-bye Maddie, in the tree top. When the wind blows, your cradle will rock..." Bug could hear Lily singing to Madelyn in the next room even over the loud water sound of his shower. She had a beautiful voice, though she would never admit it.

He tilted his face up to the shower head and let the hot water run over his face. It felt so good to be warm and clean again after the crash.

Bug reached out and turned off the tap, the just let himself stand there and drip for a moment. He could still hear Lily singing, though she had switched to 'Hush Little Baby, Don't Say a Word'. He smiled again. Everything was back to normal. Better than normal.

He got out of the shower, dried himself off and slipped on a pair of loose sweatpants and a white t-shirt, then followed the sound of Lily's voice to his spare bedroom, which was now Maddie's room. Lily was rocking her back and forth and singing to her, but obviously she didn't feel like sleeping anymore.

"Want me to try?" said Bug from the doorway. Lily jumped and stopped singing, rounding on him.

"Don't sneak up on me like that, Bug! You're going to give me a heart attack one day." He walked toward her and held out his arms, which she deposited Madelyn in. He began to sing his mother's song to her, and she was nearly instantly asleep. He gently laid her in her crib.

"You're going to have to teach me that song on day, you know," Lily said with a smile, "It's the only thing that works." Bug smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

"Have I told you how much I love you yet today?"

"Twice."

"Good. And I'm never going to stop telling you."

"Good." Lily put her hands on his face and gently pulled his lips to hers in their first real kiss. Bug kissed her back with all the love he could muster, his hands on her back and hers roaming to the back of his head to tangle in his dark, wet hair.

They stood that way for a long, perfect minute, until Madelyn decided she wasn't tired and started voicing her opinion, loudly. They broke apart and Bug scooped up Madelyn into his arms.

"And I love you, too," he said, giving her a kiss on her soft forehead. She stopped wailing and stared at him with those perfect blue eyes that looked just like her mother's. "Will you please go to sleep for me?"

"I don't think saying 'please' is going to work," said Lily. "But you could try singing to her again. She likes that." Bug shrugged.

"Okay." He began to sing, and though Lily had no idea what he was saying, it made her sleepy. Madelyn was getting sleepy, too, apparently. She closed her little blue eyes and snuggled into Bug's arms.

Bug smiled and put her gently in the crib again. He looked from Lily to Madelyn, then back again with a broad smile exposing all his teeth. He didn't care what Kate or any of the others said; this was perfect, and it was going to stay that way.

Nigel woke to light spilling from between curtains on onto his face. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his good hand and stared around him, momentarily confused by the unfamiliar surroundings. Where the heck was he? Then he remembered: he had gone to Kate's for coffee. They must have dozed off.

He looked over to the other side of the couch, and, sure enough, there was a petit blonde woman sleeping there. A very pretty, petit blonde woman, he realized. She looked so calm and peaceful; he had never seen her look so happy when she was awake. He stretched his arms and yawned, and the noise woke her up. Apparently she was a light sleeper.

"What time is it?" she asked, yawning herself. He checked his watch.

"Seven." Kate sighed and sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Why are you still here?" He looked at her, shocked. She smiled. "I'm only joking. We must've fallen asleep."

"Yeah," he said, "We must have." He yawned again then smiled. "Yawning is contagious, I swear."

"Like influenza," said Kate, standing up and picking up their half-empty coffee mugs. "Horrible." Nigel shook his head.

"Strange connection, but sure, like the flu," he replied, messing up his hair with his hand. He looked at his watch again. "Do you want to go down to the morgue?"

Kate nodded. "Yes, but I'm taking a shower first. And you're going to have to hang around and wait for me, because you're driving." It was more like an order than a request, but Nigel nodded in agreement and settled down to wait for her.

Ten minutes later she was out of the shower and dressed, and they set off toward the morgue. When they got there, few cars were parked in the lot, just Woody's and the fill-in staff's.

"So, Woody and Jordan are here," said Nigel in his usual perky voice.

"But Jordan's not—" She looked at Woody's car then remembered how they had been looking at each other at the hospital. "Oh, yeah, probably."

The pair used the elevator and stepped in to an unusually quiet morgue. A very angry-looking Woody Hoyt greeted them.

"Where have you to been?! And how come you're here?! No one from the trip enters this morgue under any circumstances. I've been trying to call you forever, Nigel! ...And is that the shirt you wore yesterday?" Nigel and Kate glanced at each other then Nigel reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. It was a pile of circuits and plastic. He held it up to show Woody, who let out an exasperated sigh.

"But you didn't answer your home phone, either! I left like forty messages! And I would've called you too, Kate, but I don't have your number."

"He fell asleep on my couch," said Kate before Nigel could reply, "And I thought my number was in the morgue's database? And if the crashers aren't allowed in the morgue, why are you here?"

"To find and inform you, before we all get fired!"

"Fine," said Nigel, "Just let me get my things and I'll be off."

"You'd better! We're not allowed back for a week." Kate rolled her eyes but trailed after Nigel to his desk, then autopsy 1 to retrieve his webcam.

Nigel noticed but didn't comment. Then he realized something. "How am I supposed to ride my bike home with one arm?" he moaned, banging his head against the wall.

"I'll drive you," Kate offered.

Nigel was surprised, but simply shrugged and said, "Fine, but if you scratch my baby you'll end up on one of these slabs." He motioned with his good hand toward the autopsy tables.

"Deal."

Bug woke up to a buzzing noise. Lily wasn't awake yet, so Bug sat up and looked for the source. His phone, of course! He went into the dining room and got it from his coat pocket; then flipped it open. He had a text message.

_jordn wouldnt let me take ovr, so u bettr make her, since its ur shift. shes bin up 4 hours, and needs to SLEEP. plus no1 is allowed bak to the morg for 1 week. woodrow_

Bug sighed and closed his phone. He might as well feed Maddie while he was up then leave Lily a note explaining where he'd gone to.

He went into the kitchen, retrieved a bottle and fed Madelyn, who was relatively not fussy, then dressed quietly and wrote Lily a note. It read:

_Lily,_

_I didn't want to wake you, but I've gone to be with Dr. Macy, and to convince Jordan to go get some sleep, because Woody couldn't. I already fed Madelyn, and she's gone back to sleep._

_Love you, Bug_

He went outside and got into his car, then drove himself to the hospital.

"How is he?" Jordan jumped and looked at Bug, hardly seeing him.

"He's doing bet...ter. He's supposed to... make a full recov...ery. Woke up for a while. Sleeping now." She yawned.

"You need to get some rest, Jordan. I'll stay with him."

"No, I need to stay with him. He—" She yawned again. "Needs me here."

"No, Jordan. Go home. Shower. Eat. Sleep. And don't go to the morgue." Jordan gave him a long, hard look.

"Fine, but I'm coming back in a few hours," she said. Bug smiled as shook his head as she left. Good old Jordan.


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry, this is a long one. It doesn't do too much for the plot; just has their characters rant to Stiles about what's going on. If you don't want to read it, you don't have to. But it is interesting, or so I thought when I was writing it._

_Also, I am aware that "Madelyn" should actually be spelled "Madeleine", and from now on I will spell it properly._

**Chapter Two: Shrink**

A week passed. And what a horrible, horrible week it had been. They had all been required to see Dr. Stiles, even Lily, who hadn't even been on the plane. That didn't go over too well, to say the least.

**Jordan Cavanaugh:** "You know, this will go a lot faster if you say something," said Dr. Stiles. Jordan crossed her arms.

"There's nothing to say, Howie," she said. Dr. Stiles shook his head.

"You and your entire morgue-family nearly died in a plane crash, and you think there's nothing to say?" Jordan shrugged.

"It's not a big deal. It's 'just another day at the office,' as they say."

"No, it really isn't. You must be having nightmares about it."

"Nope." Dr. Stiles took a note.

Actually, she had been having nightmares. Long, scary ones, which only ended when she woke herself up with her own screaming.

In one, she was the only one to survive, and had to autopsy all her friends. They were all frozen to death, their cold, dead, unblinking eyes staring at her. In that one Woody woke up and tried to kill her because she hadn't saved them. In another, they were falling, and she got sucked out of the plane. She kept falling and falling and falling and couldn't breathe. In another Garret didn't make it, and in a fourth Nigel got decapitated, and in a fifth Kate went missing and they couldn't find her. She went to sleep each night with the fear she'd have another dream, and that one or more of her friends would be killed in them. She shivered.

"Are you cold?" asked Dr. Stiles. She shook her head.

"Not really. Not compared to how cold I was on the mountain." Dr. Stiles smiled.

"See, we're getting somewhere! How cold was it on the mountain? Did you think you were going to freeze to death?"

"Like, minus forty, or something. And eventually we would have run out of food, probably before we froze to death."

"So what _really_ happened out there?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there have been some rumours. I just want to know what's true and what's not." Jordan raised her eyebrows and leaned back in her chair.

"Ask away."

"Did you confess your love for Woody Hoyt in front of everyone?" Jordan turned scarlet.

"Who told you that?!" she demanded.

"It's just a rumour."

"Um, okay, then. I might have, but I didn't think anyone was listening. But I guess in a group as small as ours was, you can't have many secrets." He took another note.

"Ah. And did Dr. Townsend and Dr. Switzer run off together for a few hours and no one knew where they went?"

"Nope. That one's not true. Bug and I were with Nige most of the time; he didn't run off anywhere. Not that he could; he did break his arm in six places."

"Right." Jordan waited for him to say something else. He stayed quiet.

"Is that it?"

"Pretty much. You've been here an hour, and that's all you're required to. Unless, of course, you want to talk to me about anything else?"

"Nope." She got up and left. Dr. Stiles shook his head.

That Jordan Cavanaugh was a bugger.

**Nigel Townsend:** "Why do we have to do these bloody things? None of us _died_." Nigel felt really pissed off. Usually he was exempt from these visits to the shrink; he was the sane one. But _nooo_, he had to participate, too.

"No, you didn't, but you still have to talk to someone about it. It's unhealthy not to," said Dr. Stiles.

"We talk to _each other_ about it."

"Oh. So you don't need to talk about it?"

"That's right, love."

"So you don't want to talk about Dr. Switzer?" Nigel stopped fuming. He raised his eyebrows.

"What does she have to do with anything?"

"Well, she must have been pretty torn up. She had an irrational fear of planes in the first place, now this? She was probably scared out of her mind."

"I guess she was."

"...And that fact that you have feelings for her, you must have been scared when she disappeared after the crash."

"I suppose I was. Wait... how do you know if I have feelings for Kate?"

"Because you just told me." He took a note.

"But, I...!"

"Watch what you say to a shrink, Nigel. Anyways. How did you feel when Kate all of a sudden was gone?"

"Awful. I started yelling her name. I didn't care how much my arm hurt; I needed to find her." He took another note.

"But she was okay."

"Yeah."

"Did you feel better?"

"Yeah. No. We were still stuck on a mountain."

"That's true, but you were all still alive, right?"

"Except for the feds and the pilot, yeah."

"And the co-pilot?"

"No, he froze to death later when he went to go check on the fire and fell asleep outside the plane. Bug and he were sort of close. It was kind of sad."

"I see. But you didn't know him?"

"No. He and Bug were talking about their kids. Apparently he had a four-year-old named Carter who liked to play super heroes." Nigel smiled when he remembered hearing Bug talking to the co-pilot after the crash. He had told him how Madeleine was still working on squeezing his finger.

"Talking about 'their' kids? Dr. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy doesn't have children, does he?" Nigel blinked with confusion.

"Who?"

"Dr. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy."

"I repeat, 'Who?'"

"You usually call him 'Bug'?"

"Oh, yeah, right, I forgot. I keep forgetting Bug has a name that isn't 'Bug'. One that's impossible to say, of course, but it's still a name."

"You never answered my question."

"What was it, again?"

"I said, 'Dr. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy doesn't have children, does he?'" repeated Dr. Stiles with a sigh. It was hard keeping the tall Brit's attention for more than a minute on one subject.

"Oh. Of course he does. Madeleine, durrh."

"But Madeleine Lebowski isn't his daughter." Nigel shook his head. A week ago, he would have said the same thing. But now it was obvious, that though genetically he wasn't her father, he _was_ her father.

"Uh, yeah, she is."

"I've had to talk to Jeffery Brandau before, and he seems to think she belongs to him." Nigel rolled his eyes.

"Genetically, maybe, but not emotionally. Emotionally, Bug is her father, whether Jeffery likes it or not."

"I see."

"It's been an hour, can I go now, mate? We both know I'm not unstable," he said, running his hand through his hair again.

"Sure, I don't see why not."

"Thank you." He left.

**Mahesh Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy:** "Dr. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy, how have you been?"

"Fine," said Bug, clenching his teeth as the therapist butchered his name. Only he, Lily and Dr. Macy could pronounce it right; he had never met another American except them who could. "Can we just get this over with? Maddie is tired." He gestured to the infant held in a front-pouch to his chest.

"Sure," said Dr. Stiles, "But why doesn't Ms. Lebowski have her?"

"Lily's resting," he said, sitting down.

"And her father isn't watching her because...?"

"Jeffery? Because he's a jerk and doesn't give a care about her."

"So you've got her."

"Jeffery makes her cry. She _chose _me to be her dad."

"I see. Let's talk about the crash."

"Okay."

"What was going through your mind as the plane went down?" Bug had to think about it for a second.

"That I wanted to live to see Madeleine grow up, and to hold Lily one last time." Dr. Stiles took a note.

"Why?"

"Because they are the most important people in my life right now, and I love them."

"You love Madeleine like a daughter?"

"Yes. She is my daughter."

"Are you sure?"

"Genetically, Jeffery's her father. But I am her father. Why do we keep going back to this?"

"Because it's the biggest part in your life right now, as you said. But we can move on if you want to. I heard you got to know the co-pilot before he died. How well did you know him?" Bug shrugged.

"Okay, I guess. We talked about Carter, his four-year-old, and about Madeleine. He showed me a picture of Carter; he's adorable. Liked to play super heroes."

"What'd you tell him about Madeleine?"

"That she was still working on squeezing my finger. How she smiled for the first time before I left. He asked if I had a picture of her with me."

"Did you?"

"No, though I wish I did. I have one in my wallet now. One of her, Lily and me, taken at the welcome back party."

"Why didn't you at the time?"

"I hadn't had time to get one. It wasn't a priority to have a picture taken and put in my wallet. It became one once we got back, though."

"Why?"

"Because, after you nearly die, it's like you want to prepare yourself for when it actually happens, next time. I want to die with a picture of Lily and Madeleine with me. So they're always with me. Because I love them so much."

"I see." He took another note.

Bug shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He always had trouble with Stiles. He wanted to know what he was writing about him. He looked down at Maddie and raised an eyebrow. Maddie smiled. A _genuine_ smile, not the 'I've got gas' face she had given Nigel. A _real_ smile.

"Hey there, Madeleine. Why are you looking at me like that?" Madeleine made a gurgling sound in reply.

"Dr. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy?" Bug winced.

"Please, just call me Bug or Mahesh, or even Dr. Vijay. You're butchering my name, and it drives me crazy."

"I'm sorry, Dr. Vijay, I thought I was pronouncing it right. I spent all night practicing, but I guess it's just too hard to say, after all. So, have you been having nightmares?" Bug raised his eyebrow at the sudden change of topic.

"About the crash? No."

He had been having nightmares, but not about the crash. They were about when he was being held by the Department of Homeland Security, on suspicion of being a terrorist, when they had waterboarded him.

"About anything else, then?" Bug grimaced. He hated lying; even to the shrink.

"N-no."

_Great, Bug, _he thought._ Just, great._ _What an _amazing_ way to reassure him that you're not lying._

"Come on, Dr. Vijay. It's obvious you're lying."

"I could never lie without being caught," he confessed.

"Want to talk about it?"

"No. And my hour's up."

"Okay." He and Madeleine left.

**Lily Lebowski:** "Why am I even here? I wasn't even _on_ the plane!"

"But your entire morgue-family was. And I know how close you all are." Lily rolled her eyes at him.

"So I'm supposed to be emotionally unstable now, is that it? I nearly lost all my friends and my boyfriend in a plane crash, and now everyone is badgering me and asking if _I'm_ okay! I mean, what about _them_? They're the ones who almost_ died_!"

"And how does that make you feel?"

"I'm a grief counsellor, and I've used that line a thousand times. I don't need to be asked how I feel. I don't even need to _be _here!"

"According to the people who sign your checks, you do need to be here. You have to talk to me for an hour, and I have to write down on a report that you are stable before you can go back to work."

"Garret signs my checks, and even _he_ has to come see you."

"...True, but I was talking about the higher-ups. They want to make sure that you can all still do your jobs properly before they start you up again. But in your _whole group_'s case, none of you are _ever_ stable, so who am I to judge? I've seen you guys do your jobs perfectly, even if it's your best friend in the morgue."

"Or Uncle Ha-Ha," said Lily twirling a strand of her red-blonde hair around her finger.

"Or Uncle Ha-Ha," he agreed. "But guys can function even when things get rough. That's what I like about your team. And you're all friends."

"See, we don't need psychological evaluations! We're just weird, that's all."

"You're right, you don't need a psychological evaluation, but you do need to talk to me for an hour. So, let's just talk, okay? How's Bug doing?"

"Better, thank God. He's stopped having nightmares, I think. Though they weren't about the crash. They started happening before. He used to wake up yelling 'Stop! I don't know anything! I can't breathe!' It freaked me out the first time. It took a while to calm him down." Dr. Stiles nodded.

"Yes, he said he had been having nightmares that didn't involve the crash. Do you know what they were about?"

"No, he wouldn't tell me. Though I bet it has to do with Homeland Security."

"Why?"

"Bug wasn't... he wasn't Bug after that for the longest time, or so I hear. I was off on maternity leave, so I only got told about it later."

"Are you still off, or...?"

"No, I'm going back when they are. I miss my job _so_ much. I can't be a stay-at-home Mom. I'm going stir-crazy."

"Speaking of which, Bug had Madeleine with him when he came for his appointment. Where were you?"

"Sleeping, I think. He's watching her now, too. He's just so great with her, you know? Better than her real father is with her. He makes her cry. With Bug, well, she only shuts up when Bug's holding her, and won't sleep unless he sings to her. It's like she chose him to be her father instead of Jeffery."

"So you think of Bug as Madeleine's father?"

"She does, so why can't I? I bet it bugs Jeffery to Hell and back, but whether he likes it or not, she _chose_ Bug."

"So I've heard. From multiple people."

"Oh, yeah? Like who?"

"Dr. Townsend, Dr. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy..." Lily winced.

"You pronounced that wrong," she said.

It bugged Bug (pardon the pun) when people mispronounced his name like that. He was always correcting them, or begging them to 'just call me Bug, _please._' It was a good thing he had an easy-to-pronounce nickname, or he would have died from frustration by now.

"So I've heard."

"He hates that."

"I know."

"How much longer do I have?"

"Ten minutes."

"Oh."

"So, have you gone and see Dr. Macy since he got out of the hospital?"

"No. I haven't had enough time with an infant screaming in my ears twenty-two-hours-a-day."

"What does she do for the other two?"

"Sleeps. Sometimes." Dr. Stiles laughed.

"I heard she was a vocal one."

"Yep."

"How's she doing?"

"Fine. Loud. She smiled for the first time. I wasn't there, but Bug told me."

"Oh. Well, that's good. How have you been? How was your postpartum?"

"I love Madeleine to bits. I still don't see how people get postpartum anxiety. To me, it just doesn't make sense. How can a mother not love her child?"

"No idea. I don't have kids."

"Is my time up yet?"

"Yes, I suppose it is."

"Good, I need to go see Madeleine." She left.

**Garret Macy:** "Is this really necessary?"

"Yes, Dr. Macy. So, tell me about the crash," said Stiles with a grin. Garret rolled his eyes.

"You already know all the facts, Howard. You don't need me to retell them to you."

"No, I don't, I guess. How's Abby?"

"No idea. I haven't seen her in months." Dr. Stiles took a note.

"You mean she didn't come visit you at the hospital? Or after you got out?"

"I told you: 'I haven't seen her in months.'"

"Wow, that's got to be a crushing blow. Are you sure she's alright? Maybe went back to rehab?"

"No, the police checked rehab. They're keeping their eyes open for her, but I'm not holding my breath. She was always a little too good at 'Hide-And-Seek'."

"You're not worried about her?"

"I gave up worrying about her when she started using drugs. There's nothing more I can do for her."

"So you don't care if you ever see her?"

"I didn't say that. But I know she can take care of herself, and my interfering will just maker her angry at me again, and I hate that. So I don't interfere."

"How's your ex-wife?"

"No idea about her either. She didn't come to see me."

"Who did?"

"Jordan, Bug, Woody, Nigel, Kate, Lily at one point... and Jordan again."

"She stayed with you most of the time, eh?"

"Until Bug, Nigel and Woody could convince her to go home and sleep. She was always there when I woke up, though. I'm glad she was."

"Do you consider Jordan a second daughter?" It was such a strange question, and out of the blue, that Garret didn't answer right away. He had to think about it.

"I guess I sort of do," he said after a minute, "Though I never really thought about it. She doesn't really have a father anymore; and I don't really have a daughter anymore; I guess we just sort of filled in the gaps with each other."

"Well, that's good. How're you healing? Are your stitches coming out soon?"

"I'm feeling better, actually. I made a better recovery than they expected of me. The stitches are staying for a while, though, I'm afraid. And I've got this chair until they do." He motioned toward the wheel chair he sat in.

"Well. Have you seen Madeleine lately? She's grown."

"No, I haven't. I expect I'll see her when I get back to work. How's she doing?"

"She's doing well. A big voice on her, though. I hear Dr. Vijay is the only one who can make her quiet."

"Yeah, I heard. Funny thing, that. Bug always thought that kids didn't like him."

"I didn't know that." He took a note. "Anything else you want to talk about?"

"No, Howard. I'm good."

"Okay, then, because you time is up."

Garret wheeled himself out of the room.

**Kate Switzer:** "Hi, Howie!" she said with a grin and settled down into her chair. "How've you been?"

"I'm fine, Kate. How are you?" She laughed.

"Oh, better than usual. I'm actually allowing myself to be happy for once; after a near-death experience, we all have to let loose for a while, right?"

Dr. Stiles smiled. "Still scared of flying?"

"Of course. More than ever, actually. You know, I don't see why everyone hates talking to you so much. You're a riot."

"Of course I am. So, how's Nigel?"

"His arm is healing. I think when we get back I'm going to sign his cast for the fun of it. For the fun of it! Man, it feels good to say that again!"

"It feels good to hear you say that again. How's Binky?"

"I'm getting him groomed tomorrow, and I'm going to take him to the morgue with me. For the fun of seeing Nigel's reaction, for course. Though I haven't decided when. Maybe sometime next week."

"And Jordan is...?"

"Jordan is Jordan. Actually, no, she's not. She's gone all googly-eyed over Hoyt. Not that he isn't good-looking, but they really should keep things between themselves. It makes us single people sad." She stuck out her lip in a fake sad face and hung her head a little. Her blonde curly hair fell into her face, making her sneeze. She pushed it out of her eyes and dropped the sad look.

"Still single, eh? Got your eye on someone?"

"Maybe, but I'm not telling you who. My private life is just that: private. And it's staying that way."

"That's funny, because Nigel practically confessed to having a crush on you when he was here. He was telling me how scared he was when you disappeared after the crash." Kate's eyes lit up.

"Oh, _really_?" She said. "And here I thought he was always annoying me because he just likes to bug people."

"Nope."

They laughed.

They talked about everything under the Sun.

They laughed some more.

Things were looking up. At least, they were in Kate's direction.


	3. Chapter 3

_There's been a cop-killing, and someone gets a big surprise. Oh! And there's more progress in the Nigel/Kate area. Sort of. Yippee! And thank you for your reviews!!_

_My spacers didn't go through when I uploaded the first and second chapters, so I will be replacing them with lines of 'X's instead._

**Chapter Three: Just Another Day at the Office**

It was the first day back. Jordan practically skipped to the elevator, and was happy when she caught Woody there.

"Hey," she said, and gave him a kiss, even in front of the six other people in the elevator. Woody was a little embarrassed.

"Hey?" The elevator opened on their floor. They stepped out.

"Garret!" She practically flew to him and tried to hug him, but his wheelchair got in the way. "Isn't it great to be back?!" The look on his face said otherwise. "What's wrong?" Her face fell to match his, enthusiasm gone.

"Cop killing, two bodies down on Thorne. I'm bringing everyone but Bug in on this; and that's only because he has Madeleine with him. She doesn't need to see this." Bug walked out of Autopsy 1 then, and saw Jordan and Woody.

"Hey, guys." He had Madeleine strapped to his chest in her front-pouch carrier. "I guess you heard."

The elevator beeped from behind them and Nigel stepped onto the floor, wearing his leather jacket and his helmet under his good arm. Emmy was with him, also carrying a helmet. Obviously, they had carpooled, err, motorcycle-pooled.

"Why the long faces?" he asked, looking positively gleeful. "We're back at the morgue! Today is a good day!"

"No, it really isn't," said Garret with a sigh, "Cop killing. Everyone's on it except Bug. Take the van." He tossed the keys to Jordan. They didn't need telling twice.

XXX

Kate woke up with a smile on her face. She rolled onto her stomach and looked at her clock. The smile faded. She was late for work!

XXX

"'Bout time you got here," said Jordan when Kate arrived on the scene. "Where were you this morning?"

"I slept in and missed the bus, so I had to walk to work. Then you guys had already left, so I had to get a ride with some new kid officer who doesn't know his way around Boston. Needless to say; we got lost. Where's my body?"

"She's in the bedroom upstairs with Nigel. Sliced throat, possible rape."

Kate looked around her at the bloody foyer. The body that Jordan was bent over was a male Caucasian, mid-thirties, brown hair, brown eyes. He had six visible stab wounds and he was right in front of the door. He probably let the killer in by accident.

"Arterial spray," she noted as she stepped over him. "Looks like the poor guy got the neck one first, then the other five abdomen ones."

"Looks like it," said Jordan, reaching into his pocket. "Here's his badge. Oh, first door on your left up the stairs." Kate nodded and walked up the stairs, carefully avoiding stepping in the blood drops.

The door was open. She walked in, and saw the body immediately. Her hands were tied to the headboard with torn pieces of the sheet, and she was naked except for the tangled sheet that happened to cover her dignity. She had more cloth in her mouth, and her throat was slit. Whoever had done it had done it right; sliced the carotid artery and the windpipe.

"Poor girl," said Nigel, still looking at her. "And a police officer, too! There's far too much crime in Boston."

"She was a cop, too?" asked Kate, giving her the once-over. Blonde hair, blue eyes, late-twenties or early-thirties, slight build, about 5"7. Looked a bit like Lu, actually. Now _that_ was depressing.

"Yeah, they both were. Terrible. Didn't Macy tell you this was cop killing?"

"Yes, he did, but I thought the guy downstairs—"

"Her husband."

"Yeah, him. I thought he was the cop."

"Isn't that a tad bit sexist of you, Love?"

"Sort of, but it's sexist against my own sex... which really doesn't make much sense. Anyways, we have names, right?"

"Yes. They are Mr. Carter Wallace and Mrs. Torah Wallace."

"Well, Torah," said Kate to her body, "You've got the best damn coroner doing your autopsy." Nigel clicked his tongue at her. She didn't care.

XXX

Kate switched on some of her music; Evanescence, '_My Last Breath_'; and picked up a scalpel. She had already done an SAE kit, and was ready to do the autopsy. She looked down at Torah Wallace. She closed her eyes for a second, to get her bearings and silently said a prayer for the poor girl, just like she did with every single body she autopsied. It wasn't something she advertised, of course. They would think she was going soft. But, being a practiced Christian, she felt the need to say a prayer before she cut anyone open.

She placed the scalpel on the girl's chest, and slowly cut the v-shape.

"Hey, Kate," said Nigel, walking into autopsy 1, "They said you got something for me?" She didn't hear him over her music. She was singing along a little, too, quietly. She wasn't facing him, and after a minute he realized she didn't know he was there. She walked up to her CD player and pressed the 'off' button.

"Hey!" said Kate, whirling around, scalpel raised. "Oh. Hi." She lowered it.

"You got something for me?" She stared blankly at him for a moment then pointed to a sealed evidence bag.

"SAE kit on 47729832," she said. He looked at her blankly, and she sighed. "Torah Wallace?"

"You memorize their _number_?" he said, mouth slightly open. She put down the scalpel and crossed her arms.

"And what's wrong with that? Efficiency?" He rolled his eyes.

"Hardly. It's just weird, that's all." He picked up the SAE kit. "I'll tell you if I get an ID from the semen." He turned and walked out.

Kate picked up her scalpel and finished the autopsy in silence. She didn't bother to turn her music back on.

XXX

"What are we looking for, exactly?" whined Nigel. He was stuck in the back of the van next to Kate and Bug, who was at the moment Madeleine-free. Jordan was driving, with Woody in the passenger's seat.

"Anything that can help us nail the guy who did this would be helpful," said Jordan. "We were so busy with the bodies we hardly looked at anything else."

"I _could _be at home tucking Madeleine in, but _nooo_, you _had_ to have me come with you. Even though this isn't my case. You are just far too pushy to resist." Bug shook his head. "Why do I let you talk me into these things?"

"Because I can." She turned and grinned at them.

"Watch the road!" came four voices in unison. Jordan sighed and turned back to the wheel. Her driving wasn't _that_ bad!

"We're here," said Woody, turning around. "Nigel, Kate, you take the upstairs bedroom. Jordan, Bug, you get foyer."

"And what will _you_ be doing?" asked Kate. He grinned.

"Breathing down everyone's necks and making them feel uncomfortable?" Everyone groaned, but got out of the car and went to their designated search areas, anyway.

"We aren't going to find anything new," said Nigel to Kate once they were back in the bedroom. Kate shook her head.

"Probably, but you know Jordan. She has to be absolutely _sure_." Nigel rolled his eyes and started looking over everything. Kate did likewise.

After an hour, it seemed like no one had found anything. They were about to call it quits when suddenly Kate said, "What's _that_?" Nigel looked up.

"What's what, Love?" She pointed to the pillow.

"That would be a pillow, Kate," he said, talking slowly, implying that she couldn't understand him if he talked too fast. She rolled her eyes at him and pointed to the pillow again.

"I meant 'what's under it'? That looks like a piece of paper to me." Nigel took a better look and shook his head.

"How did we miss that?"

"Don't know, but we'd better collect it." She put on a clean pair of latex gloved and moved the pillow, then picked up the sheet of folded paper. She gently unfolded it and her eyes widened as she read it.

"Oh no," she moaned, closing her eyes. "Oh my God, I can't believe—" Nigel was staring at her, but interrupted her.

"What is it? Is it bad?" She nodded, and turned the paper so he could see it. He gasped.

It read:

_**I have Abigail Sarah Macy. Wire 3 million dollars into PayPal account number 9842102 by Wednesday at noon, or she **__**dies**__**.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_Ooh, I left you with a little cliff-hanger did I? So sorry! Anyhow, here's the next part. Yay!_

_And thank you to those who reviewed. Merci Beaucoup! (Thanks you very much)_

**Chapter Four: Persian Ink & Interrogations**

"Lily?" Bug walked into his apartment, hung up his coat on the rack and slowly walked toward the living room. He still had trouble believing it from when Nigel told him; Kate was practically speechless, and Jordan was, too. For a moment they hadn't said anything. Then Woody whipped out his cell phone and called Garret.

Of course, they had left _him_ with the job of telling Lily. He knew how she would take it: hard. Garret's daughter had been _kidnapped_, for God's Sake!

He checked the living room. She wasn't there.

Then again, she might turn into her 'Determined to Solve the Case All by Myself' Lily, which she turned into from time to time. Especially when someone she knew was in danger.

It was late; she might be with Madeleine or sleeping.

He checked Madeleine's room first, as it was closest. She was sleeping in her crib peacefully, but there was no sign of his Lily. He tip-toed passed Madeleine's door and went to 'their' bedroom.

There she was, asleep on 'their' bed. She didn't have the sheets over her; she was curled into a ball in the center of the bed, wearing her usual Happy Bunny pyjama bottoms and a white tank top. She looked so peaceful, too. How could he wake her and give her news like this? But he had to. He owed it to her to tell her everything; no secrets. He couldn't just let her sleep while Abby was missing, and her not knowing about it.

Bug sat down on the bed and just looked at her for a minute. She wasn't a light sleeper; he would actually have to shake her to wake her up.

He gently put a hand on her bare shoulder. "Lily?" She kept sleeping. He had guessed as much; she could sometimes sleep through Madeleine crying. That took talent.

He gently rubbed her back. "Lily?" She made a sleepy sound, then reached up and rubbed her eyes. She looked at him and smiled.

"There's my love-Bug," she said, sitting up and yawning. She put her hands around his neck and gave him a long kiss on the mouth. "Mm, what time is it?"

"Midnight," he said. "Listen, Lily, because I've got something important to tell you." He reached behind his neck and gently removed her hands, holding them in his own. She gave him a quizzical look.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her blue eyes shining with worry.

"We went back to a crime scene tonight to look for anything we missed," he started, deciding to ease her into the bad news, rather than blurt them out of the blue. "And when Kate and Nigel were in the bedroom, they found something." He had her full attention now. "It was a note." He took a deep breath. "It said, 'I have Abigail Sarah Macy. Wire 3 million dollars into this pay-pal account by Wednesday at noon, or she dies.'"

Lily stared at him. Just stared at him, then wet her lips with her tongue and shook her head. Tears welled in her eyes, and she flung herself into his arms and began to sob into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, and ran one hand through her long, red-blonde hair.

After a few minutes she stopped sobbing, and she pulled away from him. "What, um, what sort of crime scene was it?" she asked.

"Double-murder, a cop and his wife. He was stabbed to death, she was raped then had her throat slit." Lily gulped.

"That's one big statement to make." She looked down, then up at Bug again. "How much of a change do you think there is that she's still alive, and he hasn't raped her yet?" Bug held her close to his chest and kissed her on the forehead. She started crying all over again. That didn't feel like a very good chance.

"Nigel? Have you been here all night?" Kate sounded mildly impressed, but also a little angry. He could hear her, but he was too tired to open his eyes. He was stuck in that place between awake and asleep, where your eyes are closed but you can still know what's going on.

"Yoo-hoo," she said, poking him between the shoulder blades. "You are not asleep."

He tried to say, 'I'm up' but it came out more like, "Mmupp!" Kate rolled her eyes, but he couldn't see her. It was only five-thirty AM; it was a wonder he was responsive at all that that hour.

"Did you find anything about the paper? Nigel! This is important!" She pushed him out of his chair and he fell to the cold, morgue floor with a _thump_.

He opened his eyes and closed them again a few times, trying to remember why it was so important. Then, of course, he remembered: Abby was missing. Kidnapped. Gone. Poof.

"Oh, yeah, of course I did. The paper was standard white printing paper; found at any paper supplies store. The ink, well, that's a different story." He stood up and stretched his long arms behind his back, carefully, with his cast, of course.

Kate watched him, and, getting impatient, said, "Well?!" He used his '_Nigel grin_' on her. It didn't work, and she put her hands on her hips. He decided to tell her; for Abby's stake. Otherwise he would have rambled. Just to aggravate her.

"Well, it's Persian ink, actually. Made only in—" He yawned again. "Iran, Iraq, you know, over-seas. Well, there are only three stores in Boston that even sell Persian ink pens, and they're all high-end stores. Right before I fell asleep I called one of them, and they haven't sold any pens in a few years the other two have had a few—" He yawned for a third time. "Sales in the past few years. We're going to need a warrant to have the names of those customers, so I called Woody." Kate seemed a little impressed.

Even in his just-waking-up mode, Nigel could tell something was different about Kate. She was smiling, that was it. She had a very pretty smile. He'd never noticed that before.

"You have a very pretty smile," he said. Kate rolled her eyes like always, turned on her heals and walked out of the room. Nigel grinned. He sure knew how to seduce a woman; you make 'em angry!

XXX

Lily woke up with someone's arms wrapped tightly around her. She moved her head a little, and realised that her pillow was soaking wet. She hadn't been drooling, had she? No, of course not. But that left... tears.

She remembered all at once. Abby was missing. Ransom note. Bug waking her up to tell her. Her falling asleep in his arms.

Which were uncomfortably tight. She tried to move, but she was stuck. And his leg was somehow crushing her wrist. And it _hurt_, like pins and needles. She tried to wiggle her fingers to get the feeling back in them. No luck. She was utterly trapped. That only left one thing; waking him up.

"Bug," she whispered. He didn't respond. "Bug!" He moved a little. "Bug, wake up. You're hurting me."

That woke him up. "I'm what?!" he practically yelled, sitting up and letting go of her. "I'm so sorry Lily, what did I do? I'm sorry."

"You were lying on my wrist," she said, holding it up. It was all red. He gently took it and kissed each fingertip, then her palm, then the back of her hand, then her wrist.

"I'm sorry," he said, "Forgive me?"

She kissed him on the tip of his nose then took his hands in hers. "It was an accident. There's nothing to forgive."

He let go of her hands and gave her a hug. "I love you."

"I know." Madeleine started screaming.

"I'll get her," Bug offered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Lily smiled and gave him a peck on the lips.

"I'll start breakfast."

XXX

"Have you got the warrant yet?" asked Kate impatiently. Woody nodded, held it up for her to see.

"And the list of names?"

"Yes, sir," he said sarcastically, handing her the list. "I got it before I came; I know how you guys like things to be done."

"Abby's _life _is on the line here, Hoyt! Don't forget that."

He hadn't. He couldn't. The last time he had seen Abby, well, he rarely saw her, but the last time he had, she hadn't been too well off. Garret had practically given up on her; and that didn't help matters. If anything it made them worse, because now he felt guilty and all he did was sit in his office and do paperwork. With his daughter in a hostage situation, he was doing damn _paperwork_! It was a last resort, they all knew. It was the only constant in his life at the moment.

"I haven't," he said to his shoes. He looked up, but she had already gone.

XXX

"Names," said Kate, coming up to Nigel's desk, "Of all the people who've bought Persian ink. Figure out which one it is." She handed him the list, and he raised his eyebrows.

"Hocus-pocus, Shzam! Open sesame! Or, how about Abracadabra?" he said sarcastically, waving his hand above the list. "Oops, forgot, it doesn't work like that in real life."

"Ha ha, now get a move on. Aren't we forgetting someone's missing here?" She put her hands on her hips in such a Kate way that Nigel had to laugh.

"No, love, I haven't forgotten," he said with all seriousness when he saw the look on her face. He thought about it a second. "Have you ever _met _Abby?"

"Well, no, but she's Garret's daughter— what's so damn funny?! Start searching those names already! I want them by yesterday!"

"I'm on it."

XXX

"Here we go," said Nigel after a while. He glanced sideways at Kate. She was sleeping. In a morgue. On a freaking _autopsy table_.

He vaguely remembered her sitting on it to wait for him. How long had he been at this? He checked the clock. Three hours. No wonder. He got up and quietly walked over to her, then bent down so his face was right in front of hers.

"You know that isn't the safest place to fall asleep," he said loudly, startling her awake. She yelped and promptly fell off the table, right into him. He had been sort of crouching; and fell onto his butt when she toppled off the side of the table. She landed uncomfortably on top of him. Of course this was the exact moment Bug walked in. Isn't it always?

"Uh... sorry to interrupt." He placed a file on the desk then turned around and walked right out of the room.

"Sorry," said Kate sleepily. "Um, what can I do for you?"

"Could you just move your knee, love," said Nigel, wincing. Kate blushed and rolled off of him.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. Just warn me before you jump me in autopsy next time," he said, grinning again. She stood up and crossed her arms, looking more amused than angry.

"Hopefully there won't _be_ a next time," she said, "Now. Why did you wake me up? I was having a very pleasant dream that we found Garret's daughter and we all lived happily ever after. Oh, and I did this awesomely gruesome autopsy on his guy who was skinned alive..."

Nigel put up his hand to stop her talking. "I woke you up because I found something," he said. She smiled, and attempted to fix her hair with one hand, while leaning on the computer desk with the other.

"Oh, yeah? What?"

"André Dubois," said Nigel, pointing at a rap sheet with a picture of a dark-haired man. "He was arrested for 'conspiracy to commit kidnapping'. They found papers that said he had been planning to kidnap a young girl for ransom money, but they couldn't prove it. He's on our Persian ink buyers' list."

"My thanks Nigel!" said Kate perkily (which never happens). She ruffled his hair before practically skipping out of the room. What was wrong with her?

XXX

"So, André," said Woody in interrogation, "Do you know why you're here?"

André Dubois, a thirty-year-old, dark haired and green eyed, pale skinned man, shook his head, then tugged at his collar.

"N-no," he stammered. Kate, who was behind the window with the gang minus Garret, smiled.

"I think we got him. Look how nervous he is. It's got to be him." She sounded confident, but the way she held herself said otherwise. She was half-slumped against the wall, hair partially covering her face. Nigel felt her discomfort and put an arm around her (his uninjured arm, that is). She leaned against him. It felt nice and safe there.

"Oh, I think you do," said Woody, sitting down in the chair across from him. "I think you've kidnapped someone. Someone very important to a lot of people. And we want you to give her back without a fight." André looked uncomfortable, but not necessarily guilty to Jordan. He might just be an accomplice.

"N-no, I didn't k-kidnap anyone," he said. Woody looked unconvinced.

"Are you sure? Are you sure you don't know who kidnapped Abby Macy?" André flinched. When Woody said, 'Abby Macy', he _flinched_. It was a guilty thing to do, possibly showing remorse. That scared Jordan. Remorse meant he'd hurt her. It could mean she was already dead.

"I d-don't know any Abby M-Macy," he said.

"Oh, no, of course you don't. You were arrested for conspiracy to commit kidnapping, correct?" André nodded.

"A-All the charges were d-dropped," he said helpfully.

"Yes, yes they were. Why were the charges dropped, André? Did you plead insanity?"

"No, no I didn't. The papers they f-found, they w-weren't mine. I was only keeping them. For a-a friend."

"You were holding plans to a kidnapping for a friend, eh? Did you write this 'for a friend' too?" Woody held up a photo of the ransom note found under the pillow. "Did you write it with your expensive Persian ink pen?"

André looked stunned. "N-no, no, I didn't write that. I didn't write that." He shook his head vigorously. "It's not mine. Not mine."

"Oh, it's not yours? Whose is it? Is it your '_friend's_'?" André looked at Woody for a long moment then nodded slowly.

"Does your 'friend' tell you to do things? Bad things? Can only you hear him? Can only you see him?" Woody whispered to André. André shook his head.

"No, n-no, he's not imaginary. I'm not crazy. I just hold things for him. He trusts me."

"How did your Persian ink pen write this note then, André? If you only 'just hold things' for him?"

"He borrowed my best pen a f-few weeks ago. He said he'd g-give it back, but he must have forgot. I haven't seen him since then. He must be busy. Very busy. He made lots of plans."

"What sorts of plans?"

"Different sorts of plans; always different, always helping, though. He'd make plans to help the city, get rid of spies. He needed to get rid of the spies. He needed to save the city. Hunt a killer. Stop the killer. Kill the killer. Save the city. Then he needed to kidnap someone's daughter. Teach them a lesson. They were probably a spy."

Woody looked up at the glass apologetically. Apparently this guy was just some crazy who held another crazy's papers for him.

"And what is your friend's name?"

"Cooper."

"Does he have a last name?"

"No. Cooper is his last name."

"Okay, then. Does he have a first name?"

"He told me to call him 'J'. Don't know why. It must be his favourite letter. Or his codename when hunting spies."

"J. Cooper. Got it." He looked up at the glass again. 'Find him, Nigel,' he mouthed. Nigel nodded, and he and Kate headed toward Autopsy 1, where the best computer was.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Dead Men Reveal No Secrets ...Do They?**

"Anything?" asked Kate for the hundredth time.

"No," said Nigel again. Kate sighed and leaned against the table. "Wait, yes. Here we go: J. Coopers in Boston." Kate got up and looked at the computer, then groaned.

"Forty-seven? There are _forty-seven_ J. Coopers in Boston? It's not even a common name!"

"Obviously it is. Hold on, I can narrow the search to males only. Okay, that leaves us with... Forty." Kate groaned again.

"James Cooper, Jonathan Cooper, Jonah Cooper, Jason Cooper, Jetton Cooper, Johan Cooper, Joseph Cooper, Joseph Cooper Junior, Jay Cooper, Jacklin Cooper..."

"Wait, what was the last one?"

"Jacklin Cooper?"

"No, before that."

"Jay Cooper... hey, you don't think...?"

"That what André Dubois thought was a letter was actually a name? Yes, I _do_ think. I think a_ lot_."

Nigel hurriedly clicked the link. "Age thirty-four, diagnosed with juvenile Alzheimer's disease."

"No wonder he's a psycho who thinks spies are out to get him."

"There's an address here, 32 West Cedar Street. Tell Woody."

"I'm on it."

XXX

"I heard they might have found the guy who kidnapped Abby!" said Lily, walking into the Break Room with Madeleine on her front. "Is it true?"

"It's only a 'might', but I think we've got him," said Kate with a smile. Lily was surprised. Kate rarely smiled. When she did, usually someone had embarrassed themselves in front of her. Usually Nigel.

"Well," said Lily. She paused. "That's good, then." She turned to walk out of the room, but Kate stopped her.

"Say, Lily?" Lily turned to Kate.

"Yes?"

"What do you think about Nigel?" It was an unexpected question; Lily raised her eyebrows, but sat down across from her.

"He's awesome. Why?"

"I heard you almost married him." She didn't seem very happy at that. Lily rolled her eyes.

"It's not like we were in love or anything. They were going to deport him. We were friends, so I thought I'd do him a favour. It's really no big deal. It didn't even happen."

"Oh." Lily waited for her to say something else, but she didn't.

"What do you think about Bug?" asked Lily. Kate raised her eyes to look at Lily, rather than the floor.

"He's alright... charming, in a way. But he's little too honest, in my opinion. Why, what do you think about Bug?"

"I'm in love with him. Why, what do you think about Nigel?" Kate made a face.

"Are you trying to get me to tell you that I'm in love with Nigel?"

"No, of course not! ...Are you?"

"I don't know."

"That's not the 'no way!' I was expecting."

"No, it's not."

XXX

"..._that I'm in love with Nigel_?" Nigel stopped outside the door to the Break Room and stopped breathing. Literally. That was Kate. Kate just said... no, that _couldn't_ be right.

"_No!_" That was Lily. She said something else, but he couldn't make it out through the door.

"_I don't know._" That was Kate again.

"_That's not..._" Lily's voice was too quiet after that to hear through the door. Nigel shook his head. He couldn't be hearing what he thought he was hearing.

"_No, it's not._" Was that Kate sounding defensive? Perhaps Lily had said, 'possible', or 'likely' or something. Nigel backed up a few steps when he heard one of them coming to the door. As it opened, he started walking forward as if he had just come from down the hall.

"Hi, Nigel," said Lily, stopping in her tracks.

"Hi. Oh, these are for you," he handed her the papers he held in his arms. "The Thomas' are here."

"Right. Okay. Bye." She turned and practically ran down the hallway. Madeleine didn't like this and started screaming.

This was when Super-Bug swooped in and saved the day. Sort of. Actually, he happened to be exiting Autopsy 1 and nearly crashed into a fast-walking Lily who had a screaming Madeleine with her. He settled them both down, Lily with a kiss and Madeleine with a song in Indian or something, Nigel couldn't be sure.

"Nigel?" Nigel whirled around. Kate was standing there behind him, looking like she'd just been hit in the stomach. "How long have you been standing there?"

Nigel smiled. "Not long, love. I just had to give Lily a file." Kate sighed and looked over at Lily and Bug.

"Oh. Okay. Good," she said and walked off. Nigel stared after her for a long while. Kate? In love with _him_? It just wasn't possible. She was too beautiful and fun and perfect to even like him in a romantic sense. He had far too much fun bugging her, and she liked to annoy him, too. It was simply platonic. ...Right?

"Wrong," he said, leaning against the wall. Wrong. He was in love with Kate Switzer! ..._What_ was he going to do?

XXX

"Jay Cooper?" Woody pounded his fist on the door again. No response. "Mr. Cooper, this is Boston PD. Please, open up!"

There was a clang, then a choking sound. Woody shouldered the door open and rushed inside the apartment, but it was too late; Jay Cooper had hung himself.

XXX

_I can't take it anymore. The cops are outside. They want to stop me; kill me. They're on the wrong side. They think I'm crazy. They don't know about the spies!_

_I need someone to follow in my footsteps, rid the world of the bad-doers that want my head. Unfortunately, I have no one. Not even André can finish my life's work for me. He is only an assistant._

_I need to write faster, get my wishes down. I need someone to take care of my cat. The cops will find her. Her name is Sadie. Please take good care of her._

_About Abigail Sarah Macy: I'm not going to write her location on paper, because it could fall into the wrong hands. They could hurt her. HE could hurt her. Who is 'HE'? He's her father. He cuts open the spies I send him. He tells them he doesn't know who killed them. He is a spy, too. He doesn't want them to know that they are spies, so he tells them he doesn't know I killed them. But he knows. Oh, yes, he knows._

_They're going to say I hurt her. They're going to say I 'kidnapped' her. No, I did not. She's safe. I'm keeping her safe. She's safe from HIM. HE can't hurt her now. I'm protecting her. Who will protect her now? Someone needs to protect her._

_You will find her _OVER MY DEAD BODY_, _

_Sincerely, _

_Jay Gilbert Cooper_

Garret choked back a sob. They had found the bastard who had kidnapped his daughter, and he had gotten away with it. He had taken the coward's way out.

Tears fell on the photograph of Jay Cooper's suicide note that Garret held in his shaking hands. It wasn't like him to cry; he was usually the strong one. For everyone, he had to be the strong one. The one they would count on to get over whatever he was feeling and help them. He needed to be that guy. But he couldn't, not with Abby still missing. Not after coming so close, only to have it snatched away in a few seconds.

XXX

"I need to know everywhere this guy has been in the last twenty-four hours," said Jordan, hovering over Jay Cooper's body with everyone else. "And I need to know by yesterday."

Bug pulled off his shoes and began examining them. Nigel swabbed his nasal passages and went through is pockets. Kate started the autopsy. And Lily hovered nervously, trying to keep Madeleine quiet while they worked.

"I found some plant material in the sole of his shoe," said Bug, pointing it out to Jordan. "It looks unusual. Like a cross between a cactus thorn and a rose thorn, but the stock is yellow-green. I've never seen anything like it." Jordan nodded.

"I've got a bug," said Nigel, "from his nasal passages. I'll switch you." Bug nodded, and they traded stations.

"Ooh, okay, here we go," said Nigel. "This is a plant with a name longer than Bug's that I can't pronounce, but know how to spell." He grinned. Jordan did not.

"Get on with it, Nige!"

"Well, they're not indigenous to Boston. They only grow in a very specifically localized place: Down on Montgomery Road, right on the edge of the woods. Someone tracked it here from overseas."

"I can second that," said Bug, holding up a tiny phial with a bug in it and closing his eyes so he could explain. "This little guy came from the south end; non-residential area. It eats decomposing animals, and has a lifespan of—" Bug opened his eyes and flinched. The only person still there was Lily, who had an apologetic look on her face.

"I guess no one cares," he said. "Where'd they all go?"

Lily shrugged. "Montgomery Road?" she suggested. He nodded; and they left Autopsy 1 to go see if they could catch up. They did just before they got into the blue Coroner's Van, and the race against time was on.

XXX

Abby slowly opened her eyes. It was light; sometime around noon, she guessed. Her stomach growled. Where was Jay? He came once a day to feed her, but he hadn't seen him in three. How could he just leave her tied to the shed like this?

She tried to recall what her father had told her about dying. _Three minutes without air..._ She had air. _Three days without water..._ There was a half-on hose by the shed. If she stretched, though it was painful, she could reach it and take a drink. Jay had done that on purpose, so she wouldn't get dehydrated if he missed a day of coming to see her. _Three weeks without food..._ That was the one thing she didn't have: food. Her stomach growled again.

They weren't going to find her. They thought she had left Boston. They thought she was just playing hide-and-seek again. Tears filled her eyes. She had betrayed them. Told them she was leaving. It wasn't their fault; they didn't know she was missing.

She hung her head, letting the tears fall onto the dry, brown grass. She would be like that soon: dry, dead, slowly decomposing until someone discovered her skeleton.

She was going to die. There was no doubt about it. Jay had been taken by police, or was injured, or had forgotten about her. He was a little weird in the head; he wasn't exactly 'sane'. He could have just forgotten she was even here. Lucky her. Lucky Abby. Left alone to die tied to a shed in the middle of nowhere. Lucky her.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter Six is now here! The title pretty much gives it away, and it is obvious this is a very fluffy chapter. ____ Good fluffy, of course._

**Chapter Six: The Rescue**

"Montgomery Road is three miles long," complained Woody. They had picked him up on the way to find Abby. "If we search the entire area, including the woods on either side, it could take _days_ to find her. And if she doesn't have access to water, we don't _have _days!"

Lily was driving this time: She was the safest driver, they had voted. Bug had Madeleine on his lap and sat in the front seat next to her. In the back were Woody, Jordan, Nigel, Kate and Garret, who had also joined them as they left the morgue. Woody had thought to open the back doors as they drove slowly along the winding country road on the outskirts of Boston, so they could see out and keep a watch for anything suspicious. There weren't many houses on Montgomery, but Lily slowed in front of every farm so the watchers in the back could have a good, long look. Just in case. Not that she was driving any faster than 20 at any given time. Lily was far too cautious a driver in normal circumstances. Luckily, these weren't normal circumstances, and they needed an extremely slow driver.

"Maybe we should have brought this to the FEDs," said Bug, gently bouncing Madeleine on his lap. She was smiling again, loving the motion. And the hum of the car engine, of course. Babies love cars.

"FEDs make everything harder," said Nigel, "It's easier if we just find her ourselves."

"We could have already passed her for all we know," said Kate. Everyone but Lily, as she was a safe driver and never took her eyes off the road, stared at her.

"Killjoy," said Woody, turning away from her and staring out of the back of the van. Nigel saw how her expression dropped, then turned mutual as if she didn't care. But he saw the tiny hint of sadness as it passed over her beautiful features. He felt he should stand up for her.

"She's not a killjoy," said Nigel seriously, "She's just telling the truth; we _could_ have passed her already. We don't have a clue where she is."

Kate inwardly smiled at Nigel. That was a nice thing for him to do, defending her like that. She always had problems with impulse control, and spoke her mind 

before she knew what the implications might for her or others. How it might make others feel never crossed her mind. It was always 'say what you mean, Katie!' and 'don't beat around the bush, out with it!' when she was younger, and it had stuck. Sometimes she wished she had not listened to her parents when they told her those things, but what was done was done.

Minutes passed in a tense silence, broken only by little Madeleine's occasional gurgling and other baby-sounds. Lily drove slower, aware that even the slightest hint of movement could be Abby, and they couldn't afford to miss it.

Garret was the quietest of all. Inside he knew she was dead. He knew that he wasn't ever going to see her again. Inside, he knew. He kept those thoughts to himself as they drove along Montgomery Road, though, because he didn't want to bash the hopes of the MEs that were searching for his daughter like she was their own. The family he had grown to love in six years, Jordan, Bug, Nigel, Lily, Woody and the newest addition, Kate, were trying to save his daughter because they loved him. And he knew that. So he stayed quiet and let them search as the afternoon wore on.

XXX

She should be resting. Conserving her energy so she could live longer. Would that even work? She had no idea.

Shaking her head to clear those thoughts, she struggled against her bindings harder. But they were too tight. Jay had known what he was doing when he tied her up; giving her enough room to wiggle to the hose to drink, but not enough to loosen the bindings so she could escape. He was a smart man, she had to admit.

"Abby, what have you gotten yourself into?" she asked herself out loud for the sake of hearing a voice, and because no one could hear her, anyway. "Why do you always get mixed up in these things? You stupid, stupid girl. You should never have left home. Now they aren't looking for you, and you are going to die. _I'm_ going to die."

The tears started again. She let her head drop so her chin rested on her chest, crying all over her white hoodie. A light wind started up and made the tall grass tickle her ankles, but it was far from a joyous feeling. It just made her realize how much she had given up on being happy again. On seeing her family and friends again.

No, no, she couldn't give up. She lifted her head and started struggling again. She was going to get out whether it killed her faster or not. It was better than standing here, crying like a baby, and waiting for death like a release from her pain.

"Survivors don't give up. And I _am_ a survivor," she said, thrashing wildly. This, of course, was when a blue ME van passed the farm. She saw it and thrashed harder, so they would see her. They had come for her; her father and his trusty MEs. They were going to save her. She wasn't going to die. She was a survivor. There was no doubt about it.

XXX

"There! What's that?" said Jordan, pointing to what looked like a person standing next to a shed. They were thrashing wildly. Lily stopped the van and the MEs rushed out, along with Woody, Lily and Madeleine, to see if that was Abby. From a distance it looked like her, but they had to be sure.

Garret, in his wheel chair, was the slowest, so Kate took pity on him and started pushing the chair, urging it to go faster.

As they got nearer they saw that the blonde was tied to the shed. And that is _was_ Abby Macy. They had found her.

Jordan reached her first. Abby was crying so hard it shook her thin body. As the others quickly joined her, Jordan untied the girl's bindings, and Abby fell into Jordan as though her legs couldn't support her. They probably couldn't.

Jordan held her up until Garret reached them, his chocolate-brown eyes filled with unshed tears.

"_Dad!_" said Abby, falling onto him, crying into his shoulder. Garret hugged his daughter so tightly his arms felt numb, promising never to let go. He stroked her hair and let her cry. Tears of absolute joy, he realized.

Bug found Lily and put his arms around her. Madeleine was included in the hug, of course.

"Maddie," said Bug looking at the infant seriously, "Do us a favour and never go missing, okay?" Madeleine made a gurgling noise and Lily laughed.

"I'll take that as a 'yes, Daddy'," she said, looking at Bug.

Bug laughed and kissed Lily. Woody put an arm around Jordan's waist and she didn't protest. Kate even leaned on Nigel a little, who had his hand on her shoulder. And Abby and Garret were having the perfect father-daughter reunion. Everyone was so happy; it was a perfect moment. If only they had a camera.


	7. Chapter 7

_Okay, that last chapter was short, I know. Sorry. :) I didn't want to drag the rescue on a whole lot and bore people. Anyway, on to Chapter Seven! (And no, the story is NOT almost over!!)_

**Chapter Seven: Oops**

Abby spent two days in the hospital recuperating. Garret never let her side, except to go to the bathroom. Abby's mother was the only person absent, of course. Apparently she was on a cruise and wasn't in communication, anyway. For some reason Abby was fine with this; she just wanted to be with her Dad.

When Abby came out of the hospital, the MEs, Woody and Lily decided to set up a 'Welcome Back from Being Kidnapped' surprise party. It was the perfect plan. Lily did most of the planning.

"Everyone meet at the bar at seven to set up," said Lily, handing out assignments. "Abby and Garret are due to arrive at eight, so everything has to be perfect." They took their assignments and headed off to do their designated jobs.

"Did you get Jeffery to agree to watch Maddie?" asked Bug. He was a little nervous about letting Jeffery take her for the night; which was irrational, he reasoned, since he was her father. Lily shook her head.

"No, he's 'busy'. My cousin-in-law, Samantha, is going to take her. She has three kids; Andrew, who's seven, Shannon, who's five, and Tina who's three. Andrew is sleeping over at a friend's house, so she won't be too busy to watch her."

"Okay. Lily, did you say she was your cousin-in-law?"

"She's my brother's wife's cousin. I met her at a family reunion. We became good friends there. Actually, we became so drunk we played water tag. It was hilarious. Don't worry, Bug, Maddie will be fine. Better off than with Jeffery, at any rate." Bug smiled and gave her a kiss, then rushed off to get decorations.

XXX

Everything was set up and ready to go, and it was a quarter to eight. Only one person was late to arrive: Kate. She had to be here. For Abby.

Nigel glanced at his watch again and sighed. She was forty-five minutes late, and the party started in fifteen. Where was she?

At five minutes to eight Kate arrived, looking thoroughly pissed off. (What else is new?)

"I am so, so, so, so, so sorry I'm late!" she said, rubbing her hands together. "Joe Doe came in and they wanted me to start the autopsy immediately." Nigel gave her a smile.

"That's alright, you didn't miss anything. They're not here yet." Kate grinned and sat down next to him at the bar. They had rented the whole front room for their private party; and the back room was rented to some old guys who wanted to play poker.

"It took you an hour to do an autopsy?" asked Jordan, surprised. Kate shook her head.

"It took me half that to clean up after." Jordan looked interested, but Garret and Abby walked in at that moment.

"Surprise!" they all yelled, and Abby grinned sheepishly. Garret raised an eyebrow, and for a moment they all thought he would be mad, but instead he smiled and put an arm around his daughter.

And the partying began.

XXX

"I am so drunk," said Bug, resting his forehead against the bar, "I should not have let you talk me into drinking that... that... stuff. I _obviously_ can't metabolize it." Lily and Nigel rolled their eyes.

"That 'stuff' is called vodka, Bug," said Nigel, taking another swig of his, "And it's the most bestest thing in the world."

"It's good to let loose once and a while," said Lily, "Haven't you even been terribly drunk before?" Bug shook his head; he never, ever, did anything this stupid in his life. He felt like he could crawl into a hole and die.

"_You_ don't look drunk," he said to her. Lily grinned.

"That's because I only had a little. Someone has to drive everyone home." Nigel laughed.

"You're going to drive everyone home? That'll take hours. No offence, love, but I'm walking. My place is only two blocks from here."

"Okay," said Lily, "What time is it?" Nigel looked at his watch.

"It's, eh, two? Blimey, I'd better get home. See you." He slowly walked off, a slight stagger making it obvious he was as drunk as Bug felt. Jordan and Woody had left an hour ago. Abby had left, too. That left Bug, Lily, Kate and Garret.

"I think we should call it a night," said Lily, yawning, "I'm driving."

Kate was dropped off first, followed by Garret. Lily then drove back to Bug's apartment, only to find he had fallen asleep in the car.

"Bug," she said, "Wake up. We're home." He opened his eyes slowly, yawned then got out of the car with Lily. She helped him to his apartment.

Lily shook her head as she unlocked the door. It was true: alcohol did not affect Bug well. Before he had even taken off his shoes he got this funny look on his face and rushed off toward the bathroom.

As Lily removed her jacket, she heard the unmistakable sound of someone throwing up. She shook her head again. Poor Bug. Maybe she shouldn't have let Nigel talk him into it.

XXX

Bug woke to a horrible pain in his head. It was nearly unbearable. What had happened? He felt like he'd been hit in the head with a shovel. Or a truck.

"Bug? Are you awake?" Bug groaned, groped his dresser for his clock, grabbed and read it. It said it was noon. He shook his head. He'd never had a hangover this bad before.

"No, I'm not bloody awake. I'm _dead_," he moaned. "I'm dead and I've gone to Hell." Lily walked into the bedroom with a smile.

"You really should get up, it's past noon," she said. Bug shook his head then put a pillow over it.

"I feel like crap."

"That's because you have a hangover," she said. "It's your fault you drank it. Nigel didn't force you to."

"Nigel said it'd be okay," he said, pillow still over his head, "I didn't know how I'd react. But I am _never_ going to get drunk again. Never, never, never."

Lily just kept smiling, but eventually went to the bathroom to get him some aspirin.

XXX

"So, how is everyone this morning?" asked Garret. Everyone groaned. It was the next day, seven AM, and they were at the morgue. Lucky for them (not), they were all slightly still hung-over. Except for Kate and Lily. Apparently Kate's system was good with alcohol, and Lily hadn't gotten drunk. Jordan and Woody weren't too bad off; they had left earliest, so they hadn't drunk as much as the others had.

"My brain is on fire," complained Nigel.

"I think my brain had turned to mush," said Bug.

"Yeah, me too," said Garret, "But we can't let on to anyone we got carried away the other night. We have to act professional." Everyone nodded.

"Off to work, then!"

XXX

Kate hummed as she did the autopsy of a car crash victim. He was an older guy, mid-fifties, named Zachary Pester. Lily walked into Autopsy 1, Bug and Madeleine in tow, to give her the paperwork to sign.

"Cause of death?" asked Lily. Kate smiled.

"I thought you'd ask that."

"It's routine. Of _course_ she has to ask that," said Bug looking a little annoyed at her.

"Skull fracture, broken neck and collar bone, internal bleeding and blunt-force trauma: all post-mortem. The crash didn't kill him. He was dead at the wheel." Bug looked a little curious, but Lily asked the question.

"What killed him, then?" she asked. Kate fished around inside the body (much to Lily's disgust and the covering on Madeleine's eyes by Bug) and pulled out the lower intestine.

"See these spots?" she asked, holding it up for them to see. Lily took a step closer to examine it. "I have no idea what caused them. But cause of death: multiple organ failure. I'm thinking a toxin of some kind. She roughly pushed the intestine back into the body, but pushed a little too hard.

There was a windy-noise as gas from inside the intestine was pushed out of the hole cut by the ME. Kate coughed and waved her hand in front of her face. It smelled awful.

Lily made a face. "That's dreadful!" she said, plugging her nose. Bug did likewise, and they all just stood there for a moment.

"Oops," said Kate.

The doors opened and Nigel walked in. He opened his mouth to say something then made a face and plugged his own nose.

"Okay, who cut the cheese?" The three morgue employees pointed at the body of Zachary Pester. Nigel rolled his eyes.

"Sure," he said, "Blame the dead guy." Kate smiled at him.

"No, it really was the dead guy," she said, laughing. Nigel shook his head.

"For some reason we are all a lot happier when we're in the morgue. Does anyone else find that rather...um...?"

"Creepy?" suggested Lily, and Nigel nodded.

"Yes. Creepy."

The day wore on, and the hangovers slowly subsided and eventually went away. Nigel became his usual smirking self again, Garret was actually doing paperwork just for the sake of doing paperwork, Bug's headache had gone away and Jordan and Woody were nowhere to be found.

"Let them be," said Garret when Bug asked if they should go looking for them. "It's that new-romance feeling. That need to be with each other all the time? They'll come back. Eventually." And they did.

It wasn't long until seven o'clock came around and their shifts officially ended. No one felt like doing over time but Garret, who had yet another mountain of paperwork to fill out. The others all went back to their apartments (except in the case of Woody, who went to Jordan's apartment) to get a good night's sleep.

XXX

Kate had barely closed her eyes when she suddenly had the urge to empty her stomach. She ran to the bathroom and violently threw up into her toilet, and when there was nothing left continued to heave.

After a few minutes of this her stomach settled down, and she fell to the floor, panting. _What the Hell?_ she thought, _I'm never sick!_

She slowly got up off the floor and cleaned herself up, changed into other pyjamas and tried to get back to sleep.

This, of course, was when her head started pounding. And everything got colder. _The flu,_ she thought, _I've caught the flu._

She had gotten a flu shot, though. It didn't make sense. Not to mention she had a very good immune system. She couldn't have the flu. ...So what she wrong with her, then?

She shivered, and realized that she must have a fever. She shouldn't be all by herself if she was this sick. She needed someone to drive her to a hospital, or figure out what was wrong with her so they could fix the situation.

Who was closet? Nigel's house was three blocks away. Did she trust him enough? Nigel got on her nerves, but he was an okay guy at heart. How could she get there? ...Walk.

XXX

Nigel sat on his couch watching TV when someone knocked on the door. He looked at the clock. It was one o'clock.

Rolling his eyes he got up and went to answer the door, wondering what could be so important that someone would risk waking him up at such an hour. When he opened the door, he was utterly dumbfounded.

"Kate?" he asked. "What are you...?" He stopped when he noticed how pale she was. Not only that, but she was wearing pyjamas and slippers.

Kate was mostly delirious at this point. She knew that she had made it, though, and promptly threw up on Nigel's feet then passed out.


	8. Chapter 8

Yay, next chapter is up!! Some points: I made up philisocopolynide, its effects and everything else about it; it is NOT a real substance. All the other poisons in Nigel's binders were also created by me, as I am not a poison expert and have no idea about real ones. Anyhow, I'm actually probably putting some more Jordan/Woody into this story like I promised (finally!). The girls are sick, minus Jordan, and something exciting happens. Oh, and Jeffery's back. :) Oh joy.

**Chapter Eight: Woodrow on the Case**

Kate woke up to a very strange feeling. The feeling that someone was lying next to her. She tried to remember where she was, but couldn't. Everything was fuzzy. She vaguely remembered walking down the streets of Boston in her PJs, going to find... Nigel?

Nigel. Kate rolled over to look at him. Still dressed, and lying on top of the covers, he was fast asleep. She sat up and immediately felt light-headed. And the throbbing at the back of her skull intensified. What was wrong with her?

"Kate?" Nigel said, obviously waking up. "How're you feeling, Love?"

How was she feeling? Like a bulldozer ran over her brain. Like someone had it her in the stomach with a baseball bat. Like she was freezing to death. Like she had just run a ten-mile race.

She opened her mouth to tell him this, but couldn't. She felt like she was going to be sick again.

She jumped out of his bed and ran to the door she thought was the bathroom, which it was, and he quickly followed her. She fell to her knees in front of his toilet and threw up again, though how there was stuff in her stomach as she had already emptied it, she did not know.

After a few minutes of heaving again, she calmed down and became aware that he was holding her hair out of the way.

It was the only thing Nigel could think of doing. It's not as if he could force her to stop puking. When his mother had been sick, all he could to was hold her hair out of the way when she vomited. So he did the same for Kate.

After another minute of clinging to the toilet, Kate sat back, breathing heavily. Nigel flushed and cleaned her up, and she just sat there, unresponsive.

After he was finished, he sat down beside her on the bathroom floor and gently rubbed her back.

She turned to him. "What's wrong with me?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Flu, maybe?" She shook her head. He stood up and offered her his hand, which she used to pull herself up.

Standing didn't last long. One step and she felt horribly dizzy, and Nigel had to hold her up. And it didn't help he wasn't feeling too well, either. Whatever she had got, he had got, but not nearly as bad.

XXX

"I just got off the phone with Nigel," said Garret at six AM. "Apparently Kate is so sick that she went to his house, probably so she wouldn't drown in her own vomit—" Jordan made a face. "And he isn't feeling well himself. They're taking the day off." At the mention of a day off Jordan grinned.

"Are you sure they didn't make this up to get a day off together?" she asked, still grinning. Garret shook his head.

"I could hear her throwing up in the background, and he didn't sound good. They really are sick, Jordan. And we could be next. If he caught it from her, there's no telling how many of us have it."

Jordan made a face. "It's a good thing I'm a healthy person, then, huh?" she said, then stopped. "Except for the whole brain tumour thing." Garret smiled.

"Yeah, except for the brain tumour thing, you're healthier than a horse."

"You know, I never got that expression," said Woody, leaning against the doorframe to Garret's office. Jordan grinned at him.

"Me neither."

XXX

Bug heard something that woke him. What could make that kind of noise? It happened again, and he realized it was retching. Lily retching.

"Lily! Are you all right?" he yelled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, his voice heavy with worry.

He was met by silence, then the sound of Lily throwing up again. He got out of bed and went to the bathroom; finding her with her head hanging over the toilet and looking sicker than most people they got down at the morgue.

She was pale, but also a little green, and she was all sweaty. That and the fact that she was vomiting told him that she was really ill.

"Lily?" he said, going over to her and putting a hand on her rather clammy forehead. He couldn't be sure, but she looked like she had a fever. He helped her up, washed her face off and then walked her back to bed. She was _not_ going to work like this.

Bug went and got his digital thermometer and put it in Lily's ear. She tried to protest, but she was too weak. The thermometer beeped and he looked at it.

"Lily, you have a fever of a hundred and three," he said with worry. "You are going to stay in bed, and I am going to take care of you." She looked at him, her eyes half-open. "Do you want anything?"

"A glass of water?" she asked, smiling a little. He nodded and got up to get her one.

While in the kitchen he also grabbed the biggest bowl he had, the one he usually used for popcorn, and brought it with him. Just in case Lily felt the need to show him her stomach contents again.

As he helped her drink her water, he realized something; with her mother sick, Madeleine shouldn't be in the house, or else she could get sick, too. But who could watch her?

"Lily," said Bug, lowering the glass, "I don't think Maddie should be in the house if you're sick. Maybe we should get someone else to watch her." Lily nodded.

"Okay."

"Who do you want me to call?" he asked. He had no clue who could watch Madeleine. None of their friends had kids, except Garret, but he would be very busy at work today with him and Lily not there.

"Jeffery will probably want to take her," said Lily. Bug made a face. "Don't worry; he's not _that_ bad with her." Bug nodded and got up to use the phone.

"Jeffery?"

"_Bug?_"

"Yeah. Listen, Lily and I need you to take care of Madeleine for a little while, if you're able," he said. Jeffery, on the other end of town, raised his eyebrows.

"_Why?_"

"Lily's really sick. She must have caught something at work. And to tell the truth, I'm not feeling too good myself. She shouldn't be in a house where everyone is sick. She could get sick, too, and that's not good for an infant."

"_Okay. Um, where is your apartment?_" Bug sighed. He had forgotten Jeffery didn't know where his place was.

Jeffery had been informed that Lily was moving in with Bug, of course, but Lily hadn't felt the need to tell him where that was.

Bug gave him the address and hung up. He felt a little light-headed. Maybe he had caught this bug that Lily had, after all.

Bug called Dr. Macy and told him he and Lily were taking a sick-day. Garret completely understood. Apparently some unknown illness was going around the morgue. Oh_ joy_.

XXX

"Hey, how come Kate marked this crash victim guy under 'suspicious circumstances'?" asked Woody with a confused look. He held up the paper and Jordan took it from him.

"Unknown toxin in his system," she said, "caused multiple organ failure. He crashed post-mortem."

Woody smiled. "Poisoned? Cool!" Jordan gave him a look. "Okay, not 'cool', exactly. How about 'interesting'? I'm going to ask the Captain if I can work this case." Jordan smiled and leaned against her desk as he ran off. Good old Woody.

XXX

_Bang, bang!_

Bug sighed and went to go answer the door. Of course, it was Jeffery.

"Bug," said Jeffery when Bug opened the door, keeping his tone even. It was well known he didn't like the Indian man, even more so since he had 'stolen' his fiancée. He noticed Bug looked paler than usual. "You look awful."

"I know," he said, leaning against the wall. "Maddie's in her room. Third door on the left." Jeffery nodded and went to get his daughter.

Jeffery was surprised when he walked into Maddie's room. Lily had obviously spent some time decorating. Big wooden letters that were painted pink and spelled 'Madeleine' were nailed to the wall above her crib, and everything else had been baby-affied. The spare bed was gone, put in storage by Bug, and a new dresser and crib with flowers painted on them was in its place. Jeffery went to the crib and picked up Madeleine.

"You might want to take a few sleepers with you," said Bug from the doorway. "They're in the top drawer of the dresser. And you'll need diapers; they're 

in the basket. And there are some bottles in the fridge you'll need, too." He yawned. "And her carrier is in the hallway."

Jeffery was a little surprised that Bug knew all these things. It was like... well, it was like he was her father. But Bug wasn't her father. _He_ was.

Jeffery got everything Bug had told him to, and then popped his head into to see Lily. She looked dreadful; pale, sick, feverish.

"Lily, I'm taking Madeleine now," he said quietly. She looked up sleepily and nodded, then rolled over and obviously fell asleep.

Jeffery left then; he had been intruding long enough; but he wished he could stay. Stay with her, make her feel better. But she didn't belong to him anymore. She was Bug's now. And though he didn't want to accept that fact, it was true. She had left him. And now he would probably not be a big part in his daughter's life. But he could try.

XXX

"Detective Hoyt is on the case!" said Woody happily, walking into Jordan's office. "Poisoned old guy. Okay. So, what was the toxin?" Jordan gave him a look.

"It's an _unknown _toxin, Woody. That means I don't_ know_ what it is," she said rather harshly. He grinned.

"But aren't you going to figure it out?" he asked excitedly, "This is our first really cool case since we got back, either than the cop killing, which really wasn't cool at all." Jordan looked at him calmly.

"No, I don't think that would be a good use of my time. I need to catch up on some paperwork," she said in such a un-Jordan-like manner than Woody's mouth actually opened and closed a few time before he could make sound come out.

"_What?_" he said thoroughly confused. "Who are you and what have you done with my Jordan Cavanaugh?"

"So I'm _your_Jordan Cavanaugh, am I?" she said, standing up and putting her hands on her hips.

"No, obviously you're not. I think if Nigel were here he would say that the real you has been abducted by aliens." Jordan rolled her eyes.

"He would say that, wouldn't he? Still, I'm not helping you with your case. You need to be a big boy and go solve this one on your own." Woody smiled with realization.

"So that's what this is all about? You're testing me? Trying to see if I can solve a case without your help, huh? Well I can, and I will." He grinned and gave her a soft kiss. "I'm going to make you proud."

"Go ahead and try, Farm Boy."

XXX

_Beep!_Woody quickly picked up the piece of paper that was shot from the machine. Negative.

"This toxin isn't on record! I've run it against everything I can think of, and everything on file, and I still can't get a match! Maybe it's a homemade poison..." Jordan smiled from the doorway.

"Are you talking to yourself, Detective?" Woody turned around and glared at her angrily.

"Just thinking out loud," he said, putting the results from yet another test back on the counter. "And I still have no idea what this guy died from."

"Did you check Nigel's binders?" she asked, motioning toward the stacks and stacks of binders that Nigel kept around. "Maybe there's something useful in one of them." Woody groaned. Nigel had hundreds of binders filled with the most random information. Sure, they had come in handy once and a while, but always when Nigel was there to tell them which binder held what.

Woody sighed. "No, I didn't check his binders. Yes, I probably should." Jordan grinned at him.

"Happy poison hunting!" she said, and ran off. Woody shook his head. Jordan wasn't Jordan today. Or maybe she was just messing with him. Knowing her, it was probably the latter.

XXX

Woody was fed up. He threw another of Nigel's binders into the 'useless' pile. There were six binders in the pile already; two of the Woody had actually read through, the other four just skimmed. Nothing useful yet, and it had been nearly three hours of searching. He decided the only thing he could do was call Nigel, even if he was home sick.

XXX

_Ring!_ Nigel opened his eyes and let a moan escape his lips. What time was it? He looked at the clock. Five? Five PM?! How could he have slept so late? The last 

thing he remembered it had been two, and he had been holding Kate's hair while she threw up again. He looked to his left. She was still asleep, which was uncharacteristic of her, as she was usually a very light sleeper.

_Ring!_ The phone was ringing, he noted. He should probably answer it before it woke Kate up.

_Ring!_ He hauled himself out of bed and his bare feet hit the cold hardwood. He lifted them back up. The floor was cold. He didn't want to walk on it.

_Ring!_ He really needed to answer that. It could be important. It probably _was_ important. He slowly lowered his feet again, grimacing as they hit the cold wood. He got up and walked into the living room, which had more cold hardwood. _I need to buy some area rugs,_ he thought sleepily. Man, his head hurt!

_Ring!_ Nigel rolled his eyes and continued toward the phone.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," he said in his thick British accent, which sounded thinker in the utter silence of his apartment except for the ringing of his phone. He grabbed it and pressed 'talk'.

"What?!" he barked harshly. _Oops,_ he thought.

XXX

"_What?!_" barked Nigel. Woody automatically felt bad for disturbing him. He was obviously in a horrible mood; and sounded like crap. _The poor guy, _he thought.

"Sorry to bother you, Nigel, but I need your help." Mentally, he kicked himself. How uncaring can you get? He didn't even ask the poor guy how he was feeling, for Christ's Sake! He should have been more considerate toward the guy, even if he got on his nerves sometimes. His country hospitality had obviously disappeared since he moved to Boston.

"_Woodrow?_" said Nigel, momentarily confused. "_Why are you...? Is Jordan okay?!_" Woody almost laughed that that was the first thought that came to Nigel when Woody called him asking for his help. The defensiveness in the British man's voice was also uncalled for. It was like Nigel thought _he_ had gotten her into trouble (again).

"Jordan is fine, Nigel." Nigel sighed loudly. "I need your help on the Pester case." Nigel was silent for a moment.

Then, "_Okay. Shoot._" Woody grinned.

"Unknown toxin in his system, and he died of multiple organ failure. All we know is that he ingested it; but we have no idea what 'it' is." Nigel thought about it for a moment.

"_Okay, listen carefully. On the shelf left of the computer on the top shelf there is a pile of my binders. Do you see it?_" Woody walked up to the shelf.

"Yes."

"_Good. Now, on the right, there should be four binders, two red, one orange, and one blue._" Woody was amazed that Nigel, especially in his weakened state, could remember tiny details like that. But Nigel was Nigel.

"I see them."

"_Grab the orange one. It has a list of unconventional poisons starting on the fourth page. Organ failure... organ failure... uh, try page seven._"

Woody held his phone to his ear by pinning it between his shoulder and his chin then grabbed the orange binder and began to riffle through it until he found page seven.

XXX

Nigel could hear the sound of papers being turned. "Are you on page seven?" he asked Woody.

"_Yeah,_" said Woody on the other end, "_How do I figure out which poison it is?_" Nigel sighed. Woody sure wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

"Read them out to me, and I'll tell you if you should run them."

"_Okay. Um, 'phoconsollide'. 'It causes bruising, swelling, headaches and heartburn if ingested'. I think I can rule that one out._"

"Yes, you can." Nigel plopped down on his leather sofa. This could take a while.

"_Philisocopolynide causes headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, from inhalation and death from organ failure and internal bleeding may occur if ingested.' What do you think?_"

"It's possible," said Nigel. "Philisocopolynide has an unhealthy habit of popping up when we think we've gotten rid of it all. It's a plant grown in West Africa. Symptoms match. I'd put it under, 'possible'."

"_Okay,_" said Woody, "_How about 'chlorophonopilectove'?_" And so it continued for about an hour.

"Nigel?" said a tiny voice from the direction of Nigel's bedroom. She sounded so weak it broke Nigel's heart.

"I've got to go, Woodrow. Duty calls," he said, "Just keeping doing what we've been doing, then test against all the poisons you think are plausible." He hung up.

XXX

"_I've got to go, Woodrow. Duty calls,_" Nigel said out of the blue, "_Just keeping doing what we've been doing, then test against all the poisons you think are plausible._" He hung up.

Woody removed the phone from his ear and stared at it a moment then glanced back at the binder. He only had a few more to go; then he could test the sample from Mr. Pester.

He grinned, his dimples showing. He was going to prove to Jordan he could solve a case without her help. He could, and would, because Woodrow Hoyt was on the case. Without Jordan Cavanaugh. And it felt _good_.


	9. Chapter 9

_Notice anything? Not giving any hints here, but maybe you've noticed I put down a very important plot point at the end of Chapter Seven and in Chapter Eight. If you have figured it out, good for you. If you haven't well, you will soon, because all is to be revealed in Chapter Nine... :) Yay for lots more Kate/Nigel! _

_(And alternate title to this chapter is "Waiting it Out". Someone convinced me that this one was better and made more sense, so, yeah. Here it is.)_

_P.S. In regards to comments by Amelia Bianca Black: I know Woody usually doesn't do the analysis; but these are special circumstances. Both Nigel and Bug, those who would normally do them, are out sick. Also, Jordan won't do it because she's determined to let him solve a case by himself. Or that's how it played out in my head, anyway. ;)_

**Chapter Nine: Just When You Think Things Can't Get Any Worse, Of Course They Do. And Then They Don't.**

"Kate? Are you all right?" Nigel walked into his bedroom with a worried expression on his face. He had just gotten off the phone with Woodrow, who was working on the Pester case, apparently.

"I'm fine," said Kate, sitting on his bed clutching his navy comforter to her chest. "I woke up and you weren't there." Nigel smiled at her then sat down on the edge of his bed.

"I'm not going anywhere, Kate. I promise. I was just on the phone with Woodrow. He's working on the Pester case."

"Oh," said Kate. She put her head on his shoulder, which surprised him a little. "Did he find out what poisoned him?" Nigel shook his head, and Kate looked disappointed.

"Don't worry, love, I was helping him do just that." She grinned for a moment then her grin disappeared.

"I feel sick," she stated. He smiled and shook his head. A slightly-delirious-obviously-feverish Kate was amusing. She liked to state the obvious and seemed much more relaxed then her normal self. Nigel found it rather soothing. Like the child within her was being let out.

"I bet you are. Are you hungry?" She thought about it for a moment then nodded slowly.

"You want me to make us some soup? I have chicken noodle..." She smiled.

"Okay."

XXX

It didn't make sense. Bug held Lily close to his chest. She was shivering, but they had all of his blankets piled on top of them. Her fever refused to go down, and she was still nauseous. It didn't make sense. He _never_ got sick. _Lily _never got sick. _Nigel _never got sick, but according to Dr. Macy, he was out, too. And Kate was sick as well. Yet Jordan, Woody and Garret all were fine. It didn't make sense.

A thought struck him. He pushed the covers off him and piled them more on top of Lily, then went to find his home phone. When he did, he called Nigel.

"Nigel, did Woody ever find out what killed the Pester guy?"

XXX

"_Nigel, did Woody ever find out what killed the Pester guy?_" Bug's voice sounded through the phone. Nigel raised his eyebrows.

"Hello to you too, Buggles," he said with a smile. He ate a spoonful of chicken noodle soup.

"_Seriously, Nigel!_" he said. Nigel stopped, spoon half way to his mouth again. Bug sounded very aggravated.

"Uh, no, not yet. He's got it down to six or seven poisons, I think. Why is it important? I thought you were sick like me and Kate." Bug let out a long breath.

"_Who did the autopsy of Mr. Pester?_" he asked.

"Kate," said Nigel, unsure of where this was going.

"_Who was standing beside Kate when she pushed on the guy's intestines and he, as you so nicely put it, 'cut the cheese'?_"

"Lily," he said, still clueless.

"_Who else was in the room?_"

"You were. And I walked in afterward."

"_WHO'S SICK?!_" Nigel jumped as his tiny friend's very loud voice almost deafened him.

"Kate, Lily, you and I." Nigel gasped as realization hit him like a brick to the head. "We've been poisoned."

"_Damn right we have!_" Bug's angry voice was almost frightening. "_Kate and Lily have it worse because they were next to him, and I have it a little worse than you, because I was next closest. You got the littlest exposure, so you're only a little sick. DO YOU GET IT NOW?!_"

Nigel got it. Boy, did he get it. They needed to find out who had poisoned Mr. Pester and with what; or else they might _all_ be in danger.

XXX

Woody's face paled and he closed the cell phone with a _click!_ that sounded around the room.

Jordan gave him a look. "You look like you've seen a ghost," she said. Woody shook his head.

"Our morgue staff isn't sick," he said, "They've been poisoned. Accidently, of course. While Kate was doing the autopsy, they were all in the room and inhaled it. We have to find this guy and hope he has an antidote, or else we might lose eighty per cent of our staff. Our family."

XXX

The four sick morgue-workers were rushed to Boston General. Lily and Bug got a semi-private room so they could be together, but both Nigel and Kate opted for private rooms.

Bug lifted his head when Woody entered his and Lily's room. She was sleeping.

"Anything?" Bug asked, his voice hardly a croak. They had to admit they were getting weaker. They had to stomp out this poison, and fast.

"Yes and no," he said, hanging his head. "The poison was philisocopolynide; the test came back positive. But..." Bug hung his head.

"There's no cure to philisocopolynide poisoning?" he guessed, and Woody nodded sadly.

"The only things we can do are sit and wait for it to work itself out of your system, and hope to Hell you didn't inhale enough for it to be..."

"Fatal?" he asked, shaking slightly. Woody nodded.

"Did they check out Maddie and makes sure she wasn't poisoned, too? She was in the room, though farther away..." Bug said, nearly piercing Woody with his stare. Woody nodded.

"She inhaled so little that they said it'll be out of her system by tomorrow, and that she'll be absolutely fine," he said with a grin. Bug sighed and leaned back against his pillow with relief. "We can only hope that all you were just as lucky." Bug nodded.

"Well." Woody shifted uncomfortably in the doorway. There wasn't much else to say, really. Woody and Bug had never been very close, and that hadn't really changed, even after the plane crash. "I'd better go tell Nigel."

XXX

Nigel was told the status. He felt confident that both he and Bug hadn't been close enough to inhale a fatal amount of the poison, and he was glad that Madeleine hadn't inhaled much, either. But Lily and Kate... he shuddered. There was no telling how much philisocopolynide they had inhaled. It was a toss-up, really. Both could be in danger, or neither of them could. It was all about luck.

He sighed. Neither Kate nor Lily had ever been described as 'lucky'. This just kept getting worse and worse, and he could do nothing to stop it.

XXX

"A fingerprint?" asked Woody. "Where did you find a fingerprint? _Jordan _please_ don't tell me you went near that body!_" Jordan put her hands on her hips.

"I'm not an idiot. It's called a 'bio-hazard suit', in case you were wondering. And Kate forgot to empty his stomach contests. Or missed something if she did."

"Kate doesn't make mistakes like that," he said out loud, though he was actually just planning on thinking it. "She must have been about to when the poison got to her."

"Sure, let's go with that. But anyway: plastic bag, broken, filled with powdered philisocopolynide. Lucky us, there was a print preserved on the inside."

"I'll run it through AFIS," said Woody with a dimple-filled grin. "And hope we catch a killer."

XXX

"Boston PD! Open up!" yelled Woody, banging his hand against the door. Jordan stood slightly behind him; he hadn't been able to discourage her from coming, like usual.

He had thought that because this was his solo case she wouldn't, but apparently when her friends became in danger it became a whole 'nother ball game.

They had gotten a hit off AFIS, a Mr. Gregory Weller, arrested for possession twelve years ago. They were at his place, banging on his door, hoping to get some much-needed answers.

The door opened and a short, portly man with greying hair and a tired expression. He looked very surprised to see police on his doorstep.

"What can I do for you, officers?" he asked, obviously mistaking Jordan for a police officer like Woody. She didn't correct him, though. It just wasn't her style.

"Hello, sir, my name is Detective Woody Hoyt, and, you see, we are doing this investigation and your name popped up. It might be nothing, but we were just wondering if we could ask you a few questions. It would be completely voluntary, of course." He smiled his best dimple-smile at the man. He gave in, and invited them in for tea.

"So, in this case of yours. How did my name pop up?" he asked. Woody looked at Jordan.

"Well, you see, _sir_," she said, trying her best niceness impression on the man. Hey, it worked for Woody. "We found your fingerprint on a plastic bag when doing the autopsy of a car crash victim."

"A plastic bag?" he said looking mildly uncomfortable. "You don't say."

"Uh-huh. Listen, sir, it isn't only because your prints were in the bag that concerns us," said Jordan, "It's what else was in the bag." Mr. Weller sighed and shook his head.

"I think I know what it is," he said, looking at the police officers with a look of slight distaste, "But I can assure you that I did not import it, nor did I give it to Zachary. He was your crash victim, I suppose?" Woody nodded.

"Zachary Pester. Listen, Mr. Weller, we would really appreciate it if you told us where the philisocopolynide came from, and how Mr. Pester got it in his stomach." Mr. Weller looked uncomfortable.

"It all started about fourteen years ago," he said, and Jordan and Woody listened closely. "I was a bit of a recreational drug user back then. I'm clean now, of course, but back then... let's just say I worked up a dept with one of my dealers." Woody nodded. "He said he would... forget about my dept, you see, and all I had to do was keep hold of a few bags filled with this white powder. I thought it was just cocaine, so I put it in my basement for a while."

"And you didn't think about using it? All that 'cocaine' in your basement?" asked Jordan. Woody gave her a 'shut up' look, and she did. Mr. Weller shook his head.

"I was a heroine user. I never touched cocaine. Though I had a friend who found it, and thought it'd be a good idea to snort some." Woody almost laughed at the older man's terminology, but thought better of it. "Which he did, of course, and he got violently ill for his trouble. Refused to go to the hospital, of course, but eventually it went away. He blamed the 'cocaine', so I never went near it again. Until last month. My old dealer came back, asking for his drugs. I gave them over to him, and I haven't seen them since."

"A very convincing story, Mr. Weller," said Jordan, leaning forward, "But there's just one problem with that happy-go-lucky version of events: How did you know he gave the philisocopolynide to Zachary Pester?" Mr. Weller thought about it for a long moment, then started speaking, choosing his words carefully.

"Zachary was his... well, they were acquaintances. But he, my old dealer, hated Zachary. He told me once. I just assumed he gave the, uh, the poison to Zachary." Woody nodded.

"Zachary Pester was his brother, wasn't he?" asked Woody, out of the blue. Jordan turned and gaped at him; Woody hadn't told her their victim had a brother, let alone a drug-dealing one. Mr. Weller nodded slowly.

"Are you going to arrest me for possession because I kept the poison all these years?"

"I'll tell the Captain how much you helped our investigation, and I'm sure they'll go easy on you." Mr. Weller nodded again.

"Thank you."

XXX

"Mr. Pester?" Woody hit the door again. "Boston PD! Mr. Pester, open up!"

Alexander Pester opened his door, and held out his hands. Woody slapped the cuffs on him and he went to interrogation. He had caught another murderer. Put another killer behind bars. Brought justice to Zachary Pester.

...Then why did he still feel so lousy?

XXX

"Nigel!" said Bug, grinning, "Are you feeling better?" It was two days later, and Nigel's system had rejected the poison. A good thing. Lily, Bug and Kate's conditions were improving, too.

Nigel nodded then walked into Bug and Lily's room, pulling his IV with him. "Much, Love. Thank you. How are you feeling?" Bug grinned.

"Better. And Lily is, too." Lily opened her eyes groggily.

"Lily is what?" she asked. Nigel smiled.

"Feeling better."

"Oh," she said, sitting up a little, "Yeah, I am. Are you?" Nigel nodded then sat down on the edge of Bug's bed. They sat and talk for a while, until they were interrupted by the rest of the gang showing up.

"Hey, Bug, Lily, Nigel," said Garret, holding Abby by the shoulder. Woody had his hand protectively around Jordan's waist. It was actually rather amusing.

"Nige! Bug! Lily! How _are _you?" Jordan gushed. It was un-Jordan-like, but lately she had been. Ever since the plane crash.

They all nodded. And the makeshift party started. They laughed and talked and had a jolly old time. So good a time, none of them realized someone was missing.


	10. Chapter 10

_Yay! Chapter 10 is up! There is more Kate/Nigel here, folks. A LOT more. Get ready for a lot of fluff!!_

**Chapter Ten: Confessions**

Kate sat up in her hospital bed when the nurse walked in. She looked rather flustered.

"What happened?" asked Kate. She was feeling much better. Though she was surprised she hadn't had a single visitor come to her room. Not even Nigel, though she guessed he was still in the hospital like her.

It wasn't like she had expected Jordan to come by. But she thought that maybe Garret would stop in and say hello. He must have just forgotten. She shook her head a little. Maybe the morgue was hectic and he hadn't been able to come by. That had to be it. She was part of the family, now. They wouldn't just forget all about her.

"Rowdy party down in 472," said Nurse Alison Donner, known to Kate as 'Ali' since she had been her nurse for the three days she had been a patient. "Big group came in and decided they'd all visit their friends at the same time. It was the group from the morgue, believe it or not. We had to clear them out."

Kate's heart plummeted into her stomach. _From the morgue._ That was her family. Yet none of them bothered to come and say hi to her? She felt tears come to her eyes, but swallowed to suppress them.

Ali hadn't noticed her patient's discomfort. She was blabbing all the hospital gossip to Kate, who wasn't listening. Kate shook her head again.

"Um, Ali?" Ali looked up.

"Yes?"

"You wouldn't happen to know what room Nigel Townsend is in, would you?" Ali nodded.

"Sure. Room 477. Just down the hall from that rowdy party. Why?"

"Just wondering," said Kate. Ali left after that. Kate sat up and rubbed her eyes. She knew what she had to do.

XXX

A few people gave her weird looks in the elevator. She didn't care. She wasn't indecent; she was wearing a hospital gown and pyjama bottoms with teddy bears on them.

She got out on the fourth floor, and walked down the hall, pulling her IV behind her. No one gave her a second look.

She soon found room 477, and quietly opened the door. Nigel was sleeping.

Kate smiled and let herself in. He never had to know she'd been down to visit him. She pulled her IV with her and sat down on his bed, then pulled up her feet and crossed her legs. She just sat there, staring at him while he slept peacefully. She smiled again.

XXX

Nigel was asleep, and he knew it. But, of course, when you become aware that you're asleep, you're not really asleep anymore. You are half-asleep.

He heard the door open with a squeaky sound. _A nurse here to change my IV_, he thought. Until he heard the rolling of wheels, like on an IV, and felt someone sit down on the end of his bed.

A patient. Hm. _Why would a patient want to come and sit with me while I'm asleep?_ he thought. Bug or Lily, probably.

Slowly, he opened his eyes a little. Just to make sure it was someone he wanted to wake up for. If it wasn't, he could go back to sleep without them known.

Kate. _Sweet Nancy_, he thought, closing his eyes again. _Kate_. He'd completely forgotten about her. They had had a party without her. No one had gone to see her. _Sweet Nancy, no..._

He head reeled. How could they have done that to her? How could they have hurt her like that, after they'd practically told her she was part of their family? How could they _do_ that?

He opened his eyes and looked at her. She was staring into space and hadn't noticed he was awake. She looked better though, and she was smiling. Which was a good sign, he hoped.

"Hello, love," he said. Kate jumped and gave him a startled look. The smile faded.

"Did I wake you? I'm sorry," she said. "I just wanted to see someone familiar. I haven't seen anyone for days. It must be pretty hectic at the morgue that they haven't come to see us yet."

Nigel's stomach flipped over. She genuinely thought that they were busy and hadn't come to the hospital. She had been all alone for three days, and in a hospital bed no less!

Kate was lying. She knew damn well they had been here. She knew they had forgotten her. But she wanted to hear it from him. She looked at him. He looked very confused. He was probably thinking. _Thinking up an excuse, perhaps?_ she thought, _No, Nigel wouldn't lie to me._

"Listen, love," he said, choosing his words carefully, "They were here for a little while, but everything was so busy they must not have had time to—" Kate shook her head, looking at the ceiling. At least he hadn't flat out lied. It was just a little white lie. He was trying to protect her.

"You forgot about me," she whispered. Nigel sighed.

"Kate—" Kate shook her head, tears filling her eyes.

Nigel stopped talking. She was on the verge of tears. Kate Switzer, on the verge of tears. It was unheard of. It was impossible. Yet here it was.

"_Don't_ lie to me Nigel. Just... _don't_. It's not like it was your fault," she said, sighing, "I know you would've come to see me if you could. Have they even let you out of your room?"

"Only to go see Bug across the hall for a little while. How did you convince them to let you come down here?" he asked. Kate's smile returned.

"I didn't. I snuck out." Nigel blinked.

"Why?"

"I wanted to come see you, and I knew they wouldn't let me," she said flatly. "And I wanted to... to thank you." Nigel tilted his head to one side, a little confused.

"Thank me for what, Love?" he asked. Kate looked at him and smiled.

"I wanted to thank you for everything. For taking care of me when I was sick. I mean, I just showed up on your doorstep... and you took care of me. And I wanted to thank you for trying to be my friend, even when I was a complete arse all the time. And for making me like I belonged. Like I was a part of the little family that developed at the morgue. Even though I'm not."

Nigel's mouth was dry. He could swear he could feel his heart breaking. Here was Kate: Strong willed, stubborn, in-your-face, I-don't-care-what-you-think Kate, showing him a vulnerable side to her. Thanking him for helping her. And confessing something to him he knew she hadn't told anyone else.

"Really, Kate, you don't need to thank me. I was just being a friend," he said. She smiled up at the ceiling again.

"No, I do. Without you, I might not be here. Not 'not here', as in Boston, but 'not here' as in alive, too. You saved me from the carjacker, and when I was sick. I could be dead a few times over if it wasn't for you. I know now that during the riot you were only trying to protect me. And though I might not like to admit it, sometimes even I need to be protected."

She wasn't looking at him. She couldn't. She stared at the ceiling, memorizing the tiles. She didn't want to see the look on his face. She had just completely opened up to him; put her heart out on a tray for him. She hoped he knew that.

"Oh, Kate," he said, looking almost teary-eyed himself. "I think that is the most emotional thing you have ever said to me. The most _real_ thing. Why are you opening up to me? It's not like a deserve it. I didn't even come see you."

Kate finally looked at him. "Because... because..." she stuttered.

She couldn't believe it. She wanted to tell him how she felt. She was head-over-heels in love with the guy. She had realized sometime while she was sick and at his apartment. She wanted to tell him that she had never felt so completely vulnerable in front of anyone before, not even any her many fiancés. She wanted to tell him that she had to resist throwing herself at him and making a complete fool out of herself. She wanted to tell him how wonderful he was, and how much he meant to her. She wanted to tell him everything. But she just couldn't.

Nigel watched Kate as she lost herself in thought. '_Because_' hadn't been the answer he had been looking for. He had been silently hoping for a '_Because I care about you,_' or a '_Because I love you,_' or even a '_Because you mean a lot to me,_' because '_Because_' wasn't hardly enough. He closed his eyes.

Kate saw him close his eyes. He looked disappointed. She grinned as she realized. He cared about her. Probably as much as she cared about him.

Without thinking, without analyzing what the implications might be, she leaned in close to him and brushed her lips against his.

The kiss was hesitant at first, but Nigel soon changed that. He hadn't been expecting it, but as she lightly kissed him, he opened his eyes and kissed her back, gently, fully, faithfully.

Time stopped as Kate kissed Nigel. His hands found her face and hers his long hair, tangling in it. It was the perfect moment. It was romantic, quiet, and very passionate. Their tongues made their way into each other's mouths, the kiss deepening and all the while gaining passion. He loved her, and he showed it. She loved him, and she tried to show it. It was perfect. It was wonderful. Then a nurse walked in.

"Ahem," she said, and the couple broke apart. The nurse, Ali, as it just so happened, had her hands on her hips and had a bemused expression on her face. Nigel and Kate were both embarrassed.

"Uh, hi, Ali," said Kate uncertainly. "Uh..." Ali smiled at her and shook her head.

"Back to your room _now_, Kate," she said. Kate looked from Ali to Nigel, who had turned a shade of pink.

"Right," she said. She kissed Nigel lightly on the nose, then uncrossed her legs and got off his bed. Ali continued to shake her head as Kate grabbed her IV and left room 477.

Kate grinned as she pushed the elevator button and waited for it to arrive and take her back to her room on the fifth floor. She had finally found someone she could trust. Someone she could lean on. And that someone was Nigel Townsend.

XXX

"Jordan," whispered Woody in her ear, "Jordy-Jordy-Jordan. It's time to wake-etty-up-etty." Jordan picked her head off her desk and gave him a look.

"I'm not five, Woody," she said, then yawned. "I don't need you whispering in my ear like that." Woody stood up from his kneeling-position beside her chair.

"Oh, you mean like the time you found me sleeping in _my_ office and decided to say, '_Woody, it's time for school,_' in _my_ ear?"

"Well at least _I_ didn't reply with, '_Just give me ten more minutes, Mama!' _Hmm, who said that, I wonder?" Woody stuck his tongue out at her in a childish manner. She stood up and bit it.

"Ow!" he said, grabbing his tongue with two fingers, "What fid you foo fat for, Fordan?!" he said.

She laughed, kicked him in the shin with her heal lightly, and walked away. Woody shook his head, still holding his tongue.

Emmy popped her head in to Jordan's office and saw him holding his tongue. She gave him a quizzical look and pushed her glasses farther up her nose.

"She bites," he said, letting go of his tongue. Emmy shook her head and smiled.

"Of course she does."

XXX

Bug felt someone kiss him lightly on the forehead. He was half asleep, and really didn't want to wake up.

"Not now, Lily, I'm sleeping," he murmured, curling up into a tighter ball on his bed. The woman who had kissed him raised an eyebrow.

"Who is this 'Lily', Heshy?" she asked. Bug's eyes snapped open, and he sat up in a panic.

"Mom?!" he said looking at his mother with shock, his mouth agape. "What are you doing here?"

"I asked you first," said Mrs. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy, putting her hands on her hips. Bug gave her a stubborn look.

"You answer, I answer." Mrs. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy looked to her husband then back at her son, then sighed in defeat.

"You always call on the first Saturday of the month. You haven't called in three. We got worried, so we called the morgue. A very nice girl named Emmy answered and told us you were in the hospital, though she butchered our name horribly. Of course when we heard you were sick, Heshy, we got the first plane over to see you. Now, who is this Lily?"

Lily stirred in her bed. She opened her eyes, then blinked. Normally she could sleep through just about anything, but lately had gotten used to waking up when she heard her name. Which she did. She sat up and yawned, then noticed they had company. Indian company, actually. They looked like Bug. They were his _parents_, she realized.

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy," she said brightly then glanced at Bug. "What's wrong Mahesh?"

Bug almost burst out laughing. It had been so long since someone called him Mahesh, and hearing it from Lily was very strange. But obviously she felt like she should use his given name in front of his parents. Still, it was weird.

"Nothing. Mom, Dad, this is Lily Lebowski. My... uh..." He looked at Lily for guidance.

"I'm his girlfriend," she said simply, smiling at a very shocked Mr. and Mrs. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy.

Mrs. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy looked from Bug to Lily, then back at Bug, eyebrows raised.

"You never told us you had a girlfriend, Heshy," she said, a slightly angry tone in her voice. "What about Maya?" Bug grimaced.

"I am not going to marry Maya, mother. She's engaged to what's-his-face now, anyway. Arranged marriages never work, and I told you that before I left. I'm sorry if I sometimes keep my personal life a little private from my parents," said Bug in a tone that Lily had never heard before. She looked from him to his mother and back again. Truthfully, she didn't see what the fuss was about. Except the fact his mother was trying to make him marry some woman named Maya.

Mr. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy seemed less put off by the fact that Bug had a girlfriend. If anything, he looked relived. He smiled at Lily, and while Bug and his mother were arguing, he went over to Lily's bed and extended his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Lily," he said quietly. Lily took his hand and shook it lightly, smiling back at him.

"And I you, Mr. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy," she replied, saying his name perfectly, like always. He shook his head.

"You are the first American I have met who can pronounce my name," he said, slightly in awe. "You are not like the many I have met." He glanced at his son. Lily looked at him too.

"You have a very wonderful son, Mr. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy." She smiled as she fondly watched Bug try his best not to yell at his now very angry mother. Mr. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy shook his head thoughtfully.

"Please, call me Pravin," he said. He sat lightly down on the end of her bed. "It's less of a mouthful." Lily nodded. Bug's father seemed very nice. A lot like Bug, in fact. Quiet, calm, a little shy looking, yet very intelligent. He had very intelligent eyes. She remembered Bug telling her he was a scientist, but had to work two jobs to support the family. He was a good man to do that. She liked that about him.

"Where did you meet my son?" asked Pravin. He wanted to know as much about his son's girlfriend as he could. Facts sat well with him. They were needed to make him feel secure. At the moment he knew nothing about Lily Lebowski, though she looked like a very nice woman.

"At the morgue," she said. She shook her head, seeing how that could sound misleading. "I work there as the grief counsellor."

"Oh," said Pravin. "That's a nice job. You get to help a lot of people." Lily nodded. Pravin didn't want to seem nosey; he knew how Americans tended to dislike nosey people. He had been there many times.

"You probably want to ask things about me," said Lily, noticing how he was trying not to be nosey, but was obviously interested in getting to know her, "I don't mind. Shoot." He looked a little put off by her terminology, but guessed it was American slang and took her up on her offer.

"When did you two get together? You seem to know him well."

"Two months ago, I guess. Or maybe ten months ago, that's when we had our official first date. It's... complicated." said Lily, unsure about how to bring up the topic of Madeleine. She supposed it was best to be right out of it. "My... my ex-fiancé and I were having problems, and Bug was a really good friend to me when I needed someone to talk to. Especially about Madeleine." Pravin noticed her hesitancy when she said the name.

"Who's Madeleine?" he asked. She looked a little worried and bit her lip.

"She's... uh... well, she's my daughter." Pravin seemed a little surprised about that, but not put-off or disgusted or anything that Lily might have expected.

"Oh?" said Pravin, smiling, "How old?"

"Three months," she said, smiling. "She smiled for the first time a few weeks ago. It was a big moment. I wasn't there, but Bug told me about it." Pravin glanced at Bug, then back at Lily.

"Um, Bug?" he inquired. Lily mentally kicked herself. _So much for using his name around the folks,_ she thought, _might as well tell 'em the truth._

"It's a nickname," she explained tentatively, "He's an entomologist, and people tend to forget his name... 'Bug' just seemed appropriate. Everyone calls him it. Even Garret."

"Who's he?"

"Oh. Um, Dr. Macy. He's the head ME at our morgue. Our boss, sort of."

"And you call him by his first name?" he said, intrigued. Of course this was when Bug noticed that he and Lily were having a conversation.

"Dad! What are you telling her? You're not blabbing about my childhood, are you? Because some things are best forgotten." Pravin rolled his eyes. He looked at Lily.

"He's just worried that I'm going to tell you that he wet the bed until he was nine." He faked a shocked looked. "Oops," he said innocently. Bug's jaw dropped.

"DAD!" he exclaimed in horror. Lily grinned.

"Relax, Bug. I won't tell anyone, I swear. At least you don't do it anymore. Then I'd be worried." Bug looked helplessly from his still angry mother, to his half-laughing father to his very happy girlfriend. He was slowly turning redder by the minute.

"You guys are going to embarrass me to death!" he moaned, putting his face in his hands. Lily was still grinning.

"Sounds like a good plan," she said, looking at Pravin, who still had a guilty smile on his own face.

XXX

Jordan and Woody walked down the halls of the hospital hand-in-hand. They were there to see their friends again. They both hoped they would be out of the hospital soon, though, as it was not a very happy place. Especially not for Jordan.

Woody opened Bug and Lily's door and they walked right in; both Bug and Lily had given them permission to.

"Oh," said Woody, seeing Bug's parents in the room. "I'm sorry, Bug. I didn't realise you had company. Do you want us to come back later, or...?" Bug shook his head, though he looked rather embarrassed about something.

"No, that won't be necessary. Mother, father, these are two of my very good friends, Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh and Detective Woodrow Hoyt." Pravin Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy extended his hand to the detective.

"Pravin Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy," he said, "But you can call me Pravin. Less of a mouthful." Jordan smiled and shook his hand also.

"Where's Nigel?" asked Jordan, taking a better look around the room. "I thought he'd be with you until visiting hours were up." Bug smiled.

"I fell asleep and he left, apparently. He's probably in his room." Jordan nodded.

"Okay. I'll be right back. I have to give this to him," she said, holding up a small leather bag. Bug nodded, and Woody gave her a kiss on the cheek when walked over to Lily, who gave him a hug. He sat down on a chair beside her bed, and they began discussing antique robots. The thing only he and Lily shared a love of.

Jordan turned and walked out of Bug and Lily's room. She closed the door behind her, then quickly walked down the hall to room 477 and peeked in through the little window. He was awake and saw her, and waved. She waved back, then opened the door and slipped inside, shutting it behind her.

"Did you get it?" he asked excitedly. She nodded and handed him the leather bag. He took it and pulled the zipper back, then reached inside to feel its contents.

"What is it, anyway?" she asked, sitting down on his bed. He couldn't help but noticed that was exactly the same place Kate had been sitting not an hour earlier. It made him feel empty.

"You mean you actually listened to me and didn't look inside?" he asked, faking a shocked look. "Wow, Jordan. You are really growing up." She stuck out her tongue at him like Woody had at her that morning, just to show that she wasn't.

"Come on; just tell me what's in the bag. It's killing me!" she whined. He shook his head.

"No way, love. Everyone deserves to have their shares of secrets. This one is mine." Jordan stuck out her lip.

"Not even if a say, 'please' over and over?" she asked. He shook his head and grinned at her.

"Damn," she muttered.

"_So_, have you gone to see Kate yet?" he asked, looking in the bag again. He was using the bag and its contents as a way to not have to look at her while he said it. As much as he wanted to see her reaction to the sudden inquiry, he wanted it to seem casual, like he had never forgotten. Though he had, of course.

"What? Oh!" she said with her hand flying to her mouth. "Oh my God..." Nigel looked up from his pretend bag searching.

"You forgot, didn't you?" She nodded, looking away from him. "How could you forget Kate?" he said. She looked at him and but her lip. He seemed a little angry, but less surprised than he should be.

"You knew I hadn't seen her," she accused. He nodded.

"She snuck out of her room to come see me this morning, because she hadn't seen a familiar face in three bloody days! How could you all forget her?! She was just starting to feel like part of the family, and you go and do something like this," he said angrily, "You know, she asked me if the morgue was really hectic so you couldn't come see any of us. I had to be the one to tell her that you did come, just not to her room. You didn't see the look on her face, Jordan! I did! I feel really guilty now, and I hope you do to. And I hope you and Woody and Garret if he's here will go see her now, because she needs someone familiar to tell her that it's alright, and I'm not allowed to leave my room anymore."

Jordan did look like she was feeling guilty, because she _was_ feeling guilty. She had actually started to feel rather fond of Kate. They were actually a lot alike, when you thought about it. She couldn't believe she had forgotten to visit her. Even with everything that had been going on... she shouldn't have forgotten something as important as that. As important as seeing a friend who was in the hospital.

XXX

Kate was aware that someone was in her room. She had her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. She thought hat Ali was there to tell her off, or ask her what the Hell she was doing kissing Nigel Townsend. He had been marked as a player the moment he started flirting with all the nurses after he broke his arm. This had been what pissed her off after the crash. He was flirting with _them_, right in front of _her_. She knew he wasn't serious about them, though. The way he had kissed her an hour ago... he was serious about her.

It was actually Jordan in her room. Jordan, feeling so guilty she rushed right up to the fifth floor to see Kate, without even telling Woody where she had gotten off to. The nurses had been relieved to see someone visiting Kate.

"Finally a visitor for Miss Switzer," an older nurse said when Jordan asked where her room was. "She hasn't had a single one. She wouldn't shut up about how great her friends were. Almost like family, she said. It's a good thing you showed up. We were starting to get worried."

Of course this had just made Jordan feel worse. Kate had been talking about _them_. _They_ were the ones who had forgotten her, the horrible ones! And _she_ had the nerve to go and say something nice about them? That they were almost like family to her?

"Kate?" Jordan asked quietly, approaching her sleeping friend.

Kate heard her voice and recognized it as Jordan Cavanaugh. She didn't stir. She didn't open her eyes. And though she felt better that Jordan had come to see her, she knew it was because Nigel had told her, which tainted the good feeling with a bad one. He had probably told her everything. He had probably told her about the kiss. And Jordan probably thought she was a pathetic wimp who fell in love and was sad when her friends didn't come visit her in the hospital. _Screw you, Jordan,_ she thought, tears forming under her eyelids, but she didn't let them escape. _Screw you._


	11. Chapter 11

_I've been updating as much as I can, but it does take time to write this stuff, especially with two other stories on the go. Anyway, here's chapter eleven!_

**Chapter Eleven: The Usual Random Happenings (...And NigelBlogdotcom)**

Garret's mouth formed a silent 'oh' as Jordan filled him in. He mind whirled. Kate. They had forgotten about Kate. Completely forgotten her.

Woody was nervously shifting from foot to foot and rubbing the back of his neck, as was habit.

"She wasn't awake when I went in," explained Jordan, "But I think she knew I was there. I still can't believe we forgot about her. When she was just starting to feel like part of the family, too..." Jordan shook her head. "I still can't believe it."

"After all the hard work to make her feel welcome..." Woody shook his head and put his hands on Garret's desk, leaning forward. "How could this of happened?" Garret was still trying to get over the shock of it all. He put one hand on his head and shook it (his head, not his hand), at a loss for words. This, of course, had _never_ happened to Garret Macy. At least, not in a very long time.

"We're gonna have to make it up to her, aren't we?" asked Jordan, putting her hands in the back pockets of her dark jeans. Woody looked to Garret for advice.

He stopped shaking his head from side to side, dropped his hand and nodded. "Yeah, I suppose we are."

XXX

Kate was sitting up in bed eating a bowl of soup on a tray when someone knocked on her door. Kate looked up from her meal and smiled with genuine surprise. In the doorway was Henry McGregor, the man who was dog-sitting Binky while she was in the hospital. He also happened to be her neighbour.

"Henry! What are you...?" She noticed the little dog in her next door neighbour's arms. "Binky!"

"Ssh! I had to smuggle him in. He wanted to come visit Mommy," said Henry, entering her room and sitting down in a chair next to her bed. Kate made a face when he referred to her as Binky's 'mommy', but otherwise looked pleased to see him.

"I'll swap you: soup for Dandie Dinmont Terrier." Henry smiled and plucked the tray off her lap, putting her beloved fluffy white dog there instead. Kate grinned and made an affectionate cooing noise, to which Binky responded by licking her face.

Henry put the tray on her bedside table, watching as owner and dog were happily reunited. He had had his doubts about doing this; sneaking a dog into the hospital. But it was worth it, just to see the happy look on both of their faces.

A nurse, Ali, actually, stopped outside of Kate's room. She peeked in the window and saw Binky. She smiled, but decided not to rat her out. She might be a gossip, but she sure wasn't a tattle-tail.

"Warf!" said Binky, happily wagging his tail. He finished licking Kate to death, spun on the spot a few times and settled comfortably into her arms.

She smiled at her little dog, who yipped again.

XXX

"I can't _take_ it anymore!" yelled Jeffrey, carrying a crying Madeleine into Bug and Lily's room. All four people in the room awoke suddenly; Bug, Lily and both of Bug's parents. Woody had gone to see where Jordan went a while ago, and the four had talked themselves to sleep. Lily sat bolt upright and held out her arms. "Make her stop crying, _please_!" He handed her daughter to her mother, who started to gently rock her.

"I thought you could handle her for a few days?" said Lily mildly, trying not to sound sarcastic. "Not as easy as it sounds, eh?" Maddie had calmed down a little, but was still fussing. Bug's parents were watching this episode with straight faces, but Bug's brow crinkled. He had a headache and didn't want to have to listen to that noise.

"Here," he said, pulling off his covers and putting his feet down on the floor. He cross the three steps to Lily's bed and removed Maddie from her arms. Lily was too busy yelling at Jeffrey to take much notice; but Maddie became quiet as soon as Bug picked her up.

She stared up at him with her clear blue eyes and smiled at him. He walked back to his bed and perched on the side, rocking Maddie and looking from his beautiful but furious girlfriend to her ex-fiancé.

Bug's father smiled. His son always had had a way with children. He seemed to think that kids hated him, but that was not true at all. He sometimes made them nervous when he first met them, but they usually grew to like him very much. It 

was that shy, almost childlike aspect to him that made them want to be friends. Or become relaxed and resist the urge to cry, in Madeleine's case.

Jeffrey sighed. "You know what, you're right. It's not easy. It's _hard_. Why won't she ever stop crying? I thought the colic... thing only lasted two months or so!" Lily rolled her eyes.

"She does stop crying. Just not for you. Is she crying now?" Jeffrey noticed the silence and glanced at his ex-fiancée's arms, which were not filled with a screaming little girl. He looked over at Bug, whose attention was on Madeleine. He was singing to her softly in Indian and letting her grab at his finger, while she made a little gurgle that Bug took to mean that she was happy.

"Uh..." he said, taking it all in. His baby, _his_ baby, was being quiet and adorable for that short Indian man. She was happily making baby noises and watching him like he was God. He pulled a face. "No?"

"Exactly." Lily put her hands on her hips. She looked at Bug affectionately. Jeffrey took this as his cue to leave.

"I'll just... go, then. You seem to have everything under control. Call if you need anything." He turned and left swiftly, his cheeks turning red, not with embarrassment, but with anger. He still got angry every time he saw that man.

That woman-stealing, bug-hugging, tree-hugging, _Lily_-hugging idiot had gotten _everything_. Lily had been _his_. Madeleine _was_ his. Yet somehow he ended up with both of them, and Jeffrey had squat.

"_That_ was your daughter's father?" asked Pravin, raising his eyebrows at Lily. She nodded.

"Unfortunately." Bug's mother said nothing to that comment, and neither did Pravin, as it was obvious that she not only wished her baby had a different father, but that the father was their son. Pravin noticed how his son was looking at the baby named Madeleine; whether Mahesh knew it yet, or not, he was sure that he son would make an excellent step-father one day.

XXX

"Can I at least use a computer? There's got to be one around here somewhere. Or is this place still stuck in the twentieth century?" Nigel whined to a nurse after she refused to let him leave his room. "I got the least exposure. Shouldn't I be out by now? I really need a computer... everyone'll be worried if I don't talk to them!"

The nurse rolled her eyes, then sighed. "Fine. I'll let you use my laptop, if you promise to shut up and not go through my files." Nigel put a hand on his chest.

"Scouts honour," he said, "I will not go through your files, and I will keep my lips shut tight. I just need to send a few e-mails." The nurse left to get him the computer, and Nigel grinned like a six-year-old.

When the nurse returned, she was carrying a pink Mac notebook under one arm and looking unhappy. "Be careful with it," she warned, "You break it, you pay to have it fixed." Nigel nodded, and accepted the computer, putting it on his lap and opening it.

"You can have it until the battery dies, but then I expect it back." Nigel nodded again, already logging on.

"Mm-hmm. Right-ie-oh." He was already on hotmail and typing up a letter to his Aunt Bea.

A letter to his Aunt Bea, Emmy, Garret and a guy he knew from the poison control lab later, Nigel was bored. He Google and typed in his name; just for fun. The sidebar read: _Results 1 - 10 of about 323,000 for Nigel Townsend. (0.23 seconds) _Nigel grinned and looked at the first result.

'_NigelBlogdotcom Down for Good, Readers Complain,_' it said. Nigel smiled as he remembered his old blog. NigelBlogdotcom had been a hit from the start, until Hangman went and ruined it. He clicked the link and began to read.

'_For months, no, for YEARS, readers enjoyed a blogger named Nigel who made everyone's day. He was a criminalist, a great mind, a funny guy, to be sure; but a failure to us who needed him in the end. He hit a devastating blow to readers worldwide. He made us laugh, he made us cry, he made us THINK... and then he left us in a ditch when a murderer threatens his career. Idiot. He should have known we would need his comfort, his sense of laugh after an episode like that. But NOOOO, he goes and quits the blog altogether. Now we'll never know what's happening at our favourite morgue! What happens between him a Katezilla, when it looked as though he had a crush on her? What happens to Lily and Bug since she's got a baby now? Are they together? What happens to Jordan and that (rather cute) blue-eyed detective all us fan-girls seem to have an (unrealistic) crush on? What happens now? Nothing, that's what!! I've started my own blog, AnnaBlogdotcom, but it won't be the same. Not for those who still faithfully check Nigel's blog for updates, even though there will be none. To you, fair readers, I apologise for his mistakes. I'm sorry he couldn't see that his work was bigger than himself and he needed to continue for the wellness of others. I'm sorry he stopped making us laugh, cry and think. I'm sorry, but he is gone... And he's not coming back._'

Nigel blinked a few times and stared at the blog. He scrolled to read the comments, and it seemed like most of his readers were posting there.

'_I miss him so much. I wish he was still blogging. I just had a baby, and I was going to ask him advice on names... I've never even met the guy, and I depend on his so much! It really sucks that he's left the virtual world,_' said Alexandria.

'_I miss him too!_' said Fran.

'_Why won't he come back? I mean, sure, a murderer used him and his site... but that's no reason to give up blogging forever!_' said Dani.

'_We love you Nigel! Come back to us!_' said Kendra.

Nigel felt a stabbing pain in his chest. It seemed his readers missed his blog as much as he did. Making a quick decision, he clicked the address bar and typed 'NigelBlogdotcom'. He opened a new entry, entered the date and started to write.

"Dearest bloggers," he said aloud, though quietly, as he typed. "Nigel here. I have missed you all so much! It seems you have missed me too, as I have read the first entry at annablogdotcom. Nice fan-girl, her. Here's a shot out to you, Anna! Thank you for telling me the truth and giving me the kick in the behind I needed to restart my blog. I will be blogging again, if less frequently, and probably with shorter posts, too, but I love you all and I am home!

"I am currently in the hospital, using one of the nurse's computers. No, I am not dying. I was accidently poisoned. Kate, Lily, Bug and, unfortunately, Maddie got exposed as well. I hear that our favourite baby, Maddie, that is, is doing fine and will make a full recovery. It seems we are all getting better, thank the Lord, and we will all live to see our next birthdays. Mine will be my thirty-ninth. My Goodness, I am getting old, aren't I?

"Many viewers are probably wondering the status of my best friend Bug and his girlfriend. Yes, that's Lily. She's living with him, and both she and the baby are doing great. Bug is like a father to that adorable little girl... more so than her real father, I mean. Or should I say genetic father? I think Bug is her real father, to tell the truth.

"Jordan has had most of a brain tumour removed, and is recovering fine. Though she acted a little strange when she first returned... I mean, she baked us all COOKIES! And they weren't even that good...

"Did I mention we were in a plane crash? We almost died, but Bug and I were able to rig up a radio signal and get us off the mountain we were stranded on. 

Good thing, too, because Dr. Macy had internal bleeding. I broke my arm, but was otherwise uninjured. I feel awful for Kate; she hates flying, and then a crash... needless to say she held onto me with a deathlike grip on the helicopter ride to the Boston General. And I'm not too upset about it. wink wink, nudge nudge Plus I still think she smells nice. What?! She does!!

"Speaking of Kate (we were speaking of Kate, right?) I think she might have a soft spot for me. She came to visit me the other day. Snuck out of her room and came down with her IV! It was so funny when the nurse walked into on us... uh... well, we were snogging. Only a little! And I wasn't the one who started it! Honest! She's just so pretty and smart and stubborn and unreachable... all the qualities I used to like in Jordan. I still do, but not in a romantic way. No, she's like my little sister now. And my little sister is growing up. She's with our good old farm-boy-from-Wisconsin, Woodrow, now, too, for those readers who care.

"I must go now, as the battery on this laptop is running low. But I wish you well, and I will be blogging again sometimes soon... probably when I get out of this hospital. I'll be out sooner or later. And I hope for sooner rather than later! This place is like a prison.

"Love you all, so until next time, I'm Nigel, and you guys rock!" He hit the 'post' button and closes his eyes. The post had been longer than he had expected, but oddly fulfilling.

He briefly wondered if he should have mentioned his and Kate's kiss... but no one he knew read the blog anyway. Kate read it once; but she thought, along with everyone else, that he had given it up. But he was back.

He closed the computer and lay back in the hospital bed. Shifting his cast into a comfortable position, he tried to fall asleep. He was tired, yet happy. Life was good.

XXX

"Hey good-looking," said Jordan with a small smile, leaning over a body of a tall, dark-skinned John Doe. "Do you always come to watch me cut people open?" Woody smiled a dimple-filled smile from the doorway of Autopsy 1.

"Eh, no. We have a lunch date." He paused. "Did you forget?" Jordan put down the scalpel she had been about to use to cut a Y-incision into the John Doe.

"No..." she said, pulling a sheet over the body, "I just... lost track of time." Woody smiled and nodded toward the doors.

"Off we go then, fairest maiden, to the luncheon of thou dreams," he said, and Jordan raised her eyebrows.

"Is that supposed to sound Shakespearean?" she asked, pulling off her rubber gloves, "Because I don't think there were medical examiners back then." Woody rolled his eyes, and offered her his arm.

"True, but there weren't proper cops, either. I'm going to take you to this wonderful outdoor eatery..." His phone began to ring. He stopped talking and reached for it, an apologetic look on his face.

"Hoyt," he said briskly, flipping it open. "I'll be there." He flipped it closed. "Sorry, Jo, but it looks like there's a murder down on Myrtle..." Jordan nodded then reached into her pocket. Apparently her phone was set on vibrate.

"Cavanaugh," she said, and then grinned. "I'll catch a ride with a detective." She winked at him, and offered him her arm after flipping her own phone shut and shoving it back into her pocket. "I got assigned to it, you lucky detective. Now, let us go. Though, 'parting is such sweet sorrow'."

Woody looked blank, but took her arm anyway.

"It's Shakespeare..."

"Oh."

"You know, 'Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing. Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow.' ...Romeo and Juliet. Not ringing any bells?"

"Uh..." He smiled, his dimples showing. She shook her head.

"Never mind."

XXX

When they arrived on the scene there were already two police cars outside of the house.

"Cavanaugh!" yelled a young, nauseous-looking cop with a boyish smile and long, light-brown hair, "Hurry up! Wilson told me to tell you we don't have all day." Jordan rolled her eyes. Wilson was a very annoying detective who both she and Woody hated; he must be co-handling this one with Woody.

"_Great_," said Woody sarcastically, "It's just what I always wanted; another case with George Wilson."

XXX

"Wilson," said Jordan, walking up to him and the body in the living room of the large, Victorian-style home, "What've we got?"

"Gunshots heard by the neighbours, looked like the husband shot the wife," said Wilson coldly, like he said everything, "Typical marriage: it always ends in divorce or homicide." Jordan gave Woody a shocked look.

"He and his wife just got a divorce," he said so quietly he practically mouthed it. Wilson didn't notice because he was too busy fuming and ranting about the disadvantages to being married.

"Oh joy," said Jordan, leaning over the dead woman by her feet. "Looks like two bullet holes," she said, pulling the collar of the woman's shirt aside a little to get a better look at the one in the neck, then rolled it up to look at the one in her stomach. "Stomach, near liver area, and neck, nicked the carotid." Wilson stopped talking to listen to Jordan.

"Looks like a downward angle..." she said, "Sixty or seventy degrees..." She looked up at the ceiling. "Bullet holes in the ceiling confirm." She paused and looked at Wilson. "I think this was an accident."

XXX

"All you have to do is sign the release papers, and both you and Dr. Vijay...aragha...haven...sat..." Nurse Ali Donner stumbled over his friend's name. "Eh... Dr. Vijay works. Both you and Dr. Vijay are healthy enough to leave now." Nigel grinned.

"Well, it's about time, Love!" he said as she handed him the form. He scribbled his messy signature on the provided line and handed it back to her.

"Yes, it is," she said with a smile, "Also, we'd like all of you who were poisoned to start taking antibiotics as a precaution." Nigel nodded.

"To prevent an infection in the healing tissue. I understand." Nurse Ali nodded.

"Are you taking any long-term medication? Nothing is listed here, but..."

"No. Why?"

"Well, this particular antibiotic tends to cause them to not do their jobs... so we have to ask to be sure..." Nigel nodded again and took the small prescription bottle she offered him.

"What about Kate and Lily?"

"If things keep going as they're going they'll be out in a few days or so... a week, tops, and they'll be taking the same antibiotics as you are..." Again Nigel nodded with a grin.

"Well, I'll be off then..." Ali smiled at him.

"Don't forget to come back next week to get your cast off. Your arm is healing quite nicely, I hear."

"Yep."

Nigel collected his belongings and left the hospital in high spirits. He got Bug to drive him home, took a shower then decided to go back to the hospital to see Kate. Again, he got Bug to drive him (he wasn't too happy about being Nigel's chauffer). While Bug was at the hospital he stopped in to see Lily some more, and to take Madeleine home with him.

XXX

There was a knock at Kate's hospital room door.

"Come in," she said with a sigh, putting aside the book she had been reading. Nigel opened the door and cautiously poked his head around.

"Hey," he said. She smiled weakly at him.

"Hey," she said, a blush creeping up her neck. "You got released?" He nodded and pulled a chair up to the side of her bed.

"How're you feeling, Love?" Kate shrugged.

"Better, but they refuse to let me go until at _least_ tomorrow. They want to keep me for another week! And they're making me stop taking my Xanax until I finish a months' worth of these antibiotics."

"They're making me take them, too. It's just a precaution..." Kate gave him a look.

"Nigel, I'm a doctor, and I do know why people take antibiotics. And why they're making us take them. I'm not as stupid as you seem to think I am." Nigel blushed.

"I don't think you're stupid, Kate, I think you are a highly intelligent, self-sufficient woman. I just keep forgetting because I usually have to explain things to 

people," he explained, the blush still there. "Your intelligence is probably the first thing that attracted me to you." Kate's eyebrows skyrocketed.

"Wait... what?" said Kate, "Since when are you...?"

"Since... forever. Why do you think I like bugging you so much? Bombarding you with questions? I wanted to learn everything about you. Get to know you more. Because you are a very special person. And I sort of... I have... feelings... for you." Kate smiled at him sheepishly. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. He was confessing to liking her.

"Really?" asked Kate, her eyes lighting up.

"Really, Love. I can't make this stuff up." Kate stared into his big, brown eyes. He was expecting for her to say it back, she realised. She hadn't told anyone her feelings in a long time. Words to express her feelings for Nigel Townsend didn't exist yet.

"Nigel, I..." She took a deep breath. What to say, what to say! "I don't know what to say," she confessed, and a look of disappointment crossed his face. "Except that I feel the same way." It was his time to have a look of disbelief.

"Really?" he asked, staring into her blue eyes and liking how they stared back. She nodded.

"Really, Nigel. I just didn't think..." Nigel put a finger to her lips.

"Don't think." He leaned in and kissed her, smiling as he did so. She grinned as she kissed him back. They broke apart, both still smiling.

"So... what was the second thing?" asked Kate, grin still there. Nigel stared at her blankly.

"What was the second what?"

"You said my intelligence was the first thing about me that attracted you," she stated, as if it were obvious, "What was the _second_ thing?"

Nigel blushed. "Oh, right. Well..." Kate put her hands on her hips. "I really shouldn't say... it's not proper..."

"Ooh..." said Kate, grinning at him. "Now you've got to tell me." Nigel shook his head, his hair flying from side to side a little.

"I really, really shouldn't..."

"Come on, you can tell me." She put on her pouty-face. "_Please_..." she whined, extending her bottom lip. Nigel gave in.

"Well, there was this one outfit you came to work in..." Kate tilted her head to one side.

"Which one was it?"

"Black pants suit with pink blouse..."

"Oh. Really? I would have thought you were talking about something more revealing..."

"It was more revealing that you thought it was..." Nigel was blushing a little more now.

"Oh, yeah? How so?"

"Well, you bent over the computer... and gave detective Seely and I an eyeful." Kate's jaw dropped a little, and she opened her mouth to defend herself.

"Oh... oops. That top always was a little loose..."

"Yeah, but you should have seen Matt's face... his eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped. It was hilari..." He stopped when he saw the look on Kate's face.

"He's a pig."

"Yes he is. No use beating yourself up over. You're just lucky Stiles wasn't in the room. He would've..." He paused again. "Never mind."

"I don't want to know, do I?"

"Nope."

_You guys were requesting more Kate/Nigel-ness, so... I couldn't help myself from making at least one purely-fluffy chapter..._


	12. Chapter 12

_This one took longer to write, I'm afraid. I was flying by the seat of my pants in this one... I really have only a sketchy idea of what's to come, and it isn't much to go by... this story is writing itself, rather than me planning and writing it. But sometimes the best literature is written like that, right? _

_Anyway, the next two or three chapters won't be written by me (this one was, though) I'm having one of my very good friends do it for me, because (uh-oh) I'm sick, but I don't want to miss any updates. So I've given her a sketch of each chapter, and she's read the rest of my story (don't worry, she's an excellent writer) and is going to write the next chapter, maybe more. We have very similar writing styles; you probably won't even know the difference... so, just a heads up. Oh, and her name is Belle, just so you know._

**Chapter Twelve: What Are Friends For, If Not To Pick Up The Pieces?**

Bug straightened his collar. He combed his hair back in what he hoped was a respectable way and put on a formal-but-not-too-formal jacket.

Lily wasn't out of the hospital yet, and neither was Kate. He hadn't remembered to tell the guys to see her; only Nigel had. He felt pretty bad, so he called up the nearest delivering florist and send both her and Lily some flowers. Lilies for Lily and assorted for Kate, since he had no idea what she would like. He hoped she could forgive him.

Since it was obvious Jeffrey couldn't handle her, Madeleine was put in Bug's care until Lily got released. She trusted him so much that she left her daughter with him for at least a few days, even while he was getting back to work already. He knew she loved him. He had always loved her. Everything was perfect.

Maddie started screaming. Bug took one last look at his hair and rushed to her room and scooped her out of her crib. She stopped her wailing and settled down, just as she did every time he held her. He never thought he had a way with kids; he thought they hated him. But Maddie didn't. It was one of the things he loved about her. He loved everything about her.

The pink carrier hardly matched his ensemble, but he had to take Maddie to dinner with him. He didn't want to get her a sitter; he wasn't sure if he knew anyone he trusted to watch her, either than Lily and maybe Dr. Macy or Nigel. But Nigel was working that night, and Dr. Macy had a morgue to run. So he was on his own.

Bug left his apartment at ten to six. Dinner was at six thirty, and he wanted to be early. His parents were taking him to some fancy-schmancy restaurant, because they wanted to 'talk'. He had no idea what this night meant; what they wanted to talk about; what was going to happen. He was completely in the dark. They were probably going to talk about Lily and Maddie and, he shivered at the thought, Maya.

He liked Maya; they had been friends growing up. When he hadn't had any girlfriends, last year his parents got together with her parents and they decided that Maya should marry him. Of course she was in love with some guy named Patrick, and refused. She actually came to Boston to see him to convince him to tell his parents to call the wedding off, and eventually they had. Luckily.

He strapped Maddie into his car and set off toward the restaurant. It was really fancy; people waiting to park your car, an extravagant gate with interrogate carvings on it at the entrance. It was mostly outdoor, with flowers and trellises and dim lighting and soft, live music. He was completely unaware of how to handle himself here.

"Heshy! Over here!!" called his mother, waving him to his parent's table. Bug slowly made his way toward them, Madeleine's carrier swinging slightly by his side. He pulled on his collar with his free hand and stood awkwardly beside the table.

"Hi dad, mom." He cleared his throat. "I hope you don't mind I brought Maddie along." His mother shook her head and gestured toward the empty chair across from them. Bug sat down and put Maddie's carrier on his lap. She was sleeping, thank goodness, and didn't make a peep.

"Actually, she is one of the things we need to talk about," said his mother, giving Madeleine a look. "And your new 'girlfriend'." Bug shifted nervously in his chair. He knew this was going happen.

"I really like her," said his father, smiling. "I think you've done well for yourself in this country. Steady job, beautiful girlfriend, and a granddaughter for us. What your mother and I always wanted for you." Bug smiled warmly at his father. He was much easier to please than his mother was.

"Well I don't like her," said his mother crossly. Bug's eyes shifted to her and his brow furrowed.

"Why not?" he asked defensively.

"I just don't. I like Maya. I think you two would have made a wonderful couple." Bug rolled his eyes.

"Maya is engaged, mom. _And_ I don't like her that way. We're_ friends_, and friends do not just go and marry their friends!" said Bug hurriedly, before his mother could speak again. "I'm not marrying Maya. She's marrying a very nice man named Patrick. And I'm in love with Lily. I'm sorry you disapprove, but for once I am going to defend the right which is mine: to choose who I marry. You said I could when I moved here! I called every month and on birthdays and Christmas, and every time you used to ask if there was a girl yet. Now I've finally gotten one and you say she isn't good enough? I think I deserve a better answer to why you don't like her than 'I just don't.'"

Mrs. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy looked a little shocked at her son's outburst. Never once had he questioned her decisions until she had told him to marry Maya, and even then she thought he only disobeyed her because Maya told him to. Yet here was her son, her Mahesh, telling her he wasn't satisfied with something she had told him. It was shocking.

"Mahesh!" she said, still in shock.

"Father, tell her I can't marry Maya!" said Bug, turning to his father desperately. Pravin looked from one to the other. He agreed with his son, of course, he usually did. But he always sided with his wife.

"Varsha..." he said, looking toward his wife, "I love you; you know I do, but I agree with Mahesh. Enough is enough. Maya is not going to marry him. He is with a very nice woman now. Why are you being so stubborn?"

"Pravin!" said Bug's mother, angry now, "We decided it would be best for him to marry Maya. It is going to happen."

"No, it's really not, mother," said Bug, closing his eyes, "I'm not going to marry a woman I hardly know anymore, I don't find attractive, and I'm not in love with. It's just not going to happen." Pravin nodded and looked at his wife. She still looked angry.

"He should marry Maya. Or even some other nice girl. Why this 'Lily'? I don't like her. And she already had a child that isn't yours. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Bug raised his eyebrows.

"This is about Madeleine?" he asked, shocked. "I love Lily. And I love Maddie. And they love me back. It doesn't matter that I'm not her father, because I'm going to be her _dad_. That is a far more important role, as far as I'm concerned."

"But Heshy," his mother reasoned, "The baby looks nothing like you..."

"And that's supposed to make a difference?" he said, lowering his voice a little, as it sounded to him as if they were getting too loud with this discussion. "I love her, mom! _That's_ what matters." Bug's mother leaned back in her chair, obviously unhappy.

"You do not know a thing about love, Mahesh. You _think_ you love this... this _woman_, but I think she is using you. She does not love you as much as you love her. And her daughter will follow in her mother's footsteps," she warned.

"If Lily loves me one _tenth_ of the amount I love her, she'd be loving me _ten times _as much as _you_ love me, so what does it matter!"

Pravin looked from his son to his wife desperately. What had just been said was so bold for his Mahesh that he didn't know what to say. Mahesh was implying that his mother didn't love him. Pravin knew this wasn't true, but she still hadn't gotten over their youngest son's death.

"Heshy..."

"Don't 'Heshy...' me, mom! You loved Jayin more than you loved me, and you've never forgiven me for the accident! That's what this is really about, isn't it? You don't want me to be with Lily because it'll make me happy for once? Is that it?"

Pravin look horrified when Bug mentioned his brother, and Mrs. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy had tears welling in her eyes. This dinner was turning out to be more than any of them had bargained for.

"Leave your brother out of this," said Bug's mother. Pravin bit his lip.

"Why? Why don't we ever talk about it? You've always blamed me! I was just a little kid, and I made a mistake. I made a mistake, and now I don't deserve to be happy? I was just a little kid! How was I supposed to know he'd run outside while it was raining? I didn't even know he was gone until I brought him back a sandwich and heard the— heard the— the tires squealing—"

Pravin reached out and took his son's hand. Bug pulled away, resting his hands on Maddie's carrier. Somehow she had been able to sleep through the entire ruckus. The rest of the diners weren't so happy, a few had actually complained.

"Sirs and madam, would you please lower your voices," said a waiter nervously hovering a few feet away from their table, but obviously talking to them. Bug sighed and stood up.

"I don't know why I even came tonight," said Bug, then took Maddie and left the restaurant, tears in his eyes.

XXX

"Good morning, dear Bloggers! Nigel here. I am now home from the hospital, and I had a very nice chat with Kate yesterday. It seems we might have feelings for one another. ...Does anyone have any advice on how I should proceed? This is uncharted territory for a man known for his – ahem – one night stands. I've only been in a few serious relationships, I'm afraid. One of them kidnapped their daughter and made me think it was my fault she died. (She didn't actually die, so don't you worry. It was only pretend so she could get away from her ex-husband who wanted custody.) And my others ended in disaster. I don't want to mess things up with Kate. She's... different, somehow. or any high-tech equipment in ages, and I'm dying for things to go back to normal. Bug is out of the hospital, too, but is doing shorter hours this week because he has Maddie since Lily hasn't been released yet.

"Since I am going back to work, I will be able to post updates about the morgue and give you all the gossip again; just like old times, right? I know it's been a while since I last posted, but I really want this to work again. I hear Jordan hasn't pulled anything lately. Perhaps all is not well in the halls of the ninth floor prison I call 'work'. You never know with Jordan.

"Sorry Bloggers, I must go now. My phone is ringing, and I am not in a position to answer it and type at the same time while I am still wearing an arm cast. Until text time, I wish you well." Nigel posted his latest blog entry and closed his laptop with a sigh.

He got up and picked up the phone. "Hello," he said into the receiver. It was quiet on the other end. "Hello?" He looked at the caller ID.

It said, 'Vijayaragha...' which was all that could fit on the tiny screen.

"Bug, are you there?" asked Nigel with concern. There was a sniffle on the other end.

"_Yeah._" He had a depressed tone to his voice, like he had been crying. Nigel had only seen Bug cry four times in his life.

"Are you okay?" he asked his short friend, sitting down on his leather sofa and leaning back.

"_Yes. No. I... I had a fight with my mother last night,_" said Bug.

Nigel's eyebrows came together. He knew Bug and his parent's didn't have the best relationship in the world; neither did he and his parent's, Jordan and her dad, Garret and his parent's, Lily and her mom, or Woody and his dad. It was a 

common thing among the morgue workers. But Nigel had never really heard Bug talk about his parents before, except on his mother's birthday when he complained about having to call her twice in one month.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Nigel, using his 'I'm here for you' tone. He hoped it still worked.

"_I don't know. Normally I'd talk to Lily, but..._"

"She's in the hospital," said Nigel, finishing his sentence. "You don't need to explain. Do you want me to come over? We could order lunch..." Bug was quiet on the other end for a moment.

"_Okay,_" he said. "_Is pizza okay with you?_"

"Sure. See you in a few." Bug hung up and Nigel put down his phone.

XXX

Nigel knocked on Bug's apartment door then stuck his hands in his jean pockets. He wasn't a big 'talk-about-it' guy, and had no idea what he was supposed to say to his friend. This was usually Lily's job!

Bug opened the door and gestured for Nigel to come in. He did, took off his shoes and coat and followed Bug to the dining room. The pizza had already arrived, and Maddie was sitting in a high-chair making faces. She could hold her head up by herself now, so she turned and looked at Nigel and Bug when they walked in.

"Hey cutie," said Nigel walking over to Maddie and leaning down so they were face to face. "How're you doing?" Maddie reached out and attempted to grab Nigel's nose, but missed and ended up lightly tapping his cheek playfully, then made her happy baby noise. Nigel grinned and looked up at Bug.

"Feisty little monster, isn't she? Can't wait until she can talk..." Bug hadn't said a word, but motioned for Nigel to sit down at the table while he went into the kitchen to get paper plates.

When he returned he was looking quite solemn. Nigel didn't have the heart to smile, even though Maddie was waving her arms and being very adorable. Bug placed a plate in front of Nigel and then one in front of himself, opened the box of pizza and took a slice. Nigel did the same. Neither said a word.

They ate in silence, and Nigel was a little uncomfortable. Bug was one who liked to be quiet when thinking, and when he was upset. Nigel remembered what he had said on the phone; he had had a fight with his mother. That meant he probably fell under the upset category.

"Are you okay?" asked Nigel after they had eaten most of the pizza. "You don't look well. Have you been taking the antibiotics they gave us at the hospital?" Bug nodded and folded his hands in his lap, staring at them.

Nigel shifted a little, trying to think of what to say. "Listen, mate, I'm not that good a listener, but I'm can try. You can tell me anything, you know that?" A small smile formed on Bug.

"You're the morgue's biggest gossip," he said. Nigel smiled at him.

"Sure, but I know how to keep a secret if it's important." Bug looked up at his friend.

"Promise?"

"Of course, Love. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

"My mother and I had a fight. Over... Lily and Maddie and my brother." The last three words came out in a rush, so Nigel could barely understand him. But he did. It was a good thing he had excellent hearing.

"Your brother?" asked Nigel. He didn't know Bug had a brother. "You have a brother?" Bug shook his head.

"I _had_ a brother," said Bug, his eyes watering a little. Nigel's face tightened.

"I'm sorry, Love. Why... why were you fighting over him?"

"My mother blames me for his death. I feel like she's always trying to punish me for it. She never seems to want me to do what will make me happy. It's not fair." Nigel felt a stabbing pain in his chest.

"And you told her this last night?" Bug nodded.

"We were arguing over Lily. She told me that she didn't like her. I asked her why. You know what her answer was?" Nigel shook his head. "It was 'I just don't.' The truth is I don't think it has anything to do with Lily. My mother just doesn't want me to be happy because I let my... because I let my brother..."

Nigel got up and walked to his friend, hugging him tightly. Bug hugged his big British friend back, crying into his chest. "It's not fair..." he mumbled into his chest quietly.

"No, it's not. You deserve to be happy. You deserve someone like Lily. And she deserves you. You are the perfect couple. And if your mother can't see that..." Nigel shook his head. "It's her loss."

After a few moments, Bug let go of his friend and took a step back, wiping his eyes. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. What are friends for?" Nigel said jokingly. _Friends are there to pick up the pieces when you're broken,_ he thought, looking at his Indian friend_,_ _that's what friends are for._


	13. Chapter 13

_This chapter was written by me (Belle O'Brian), not Casey 'cause she's sick. Don't worry though, she told me to post this; and she has given me an outline to work with AND she has read it at vetoed some parts until she is happy with it, even though she's sick. So, anyway, here it is... Belle_

_P.S., feel free to review and/or comment on what could be done better, what you think should happen... I like constructive criticism. So does Casey._

**Chapter Thirteen: Out of the Hospital and the Effects of Scary Movies**

A week had passed since Bug and Nigel's talk, though Lily didn't know it had occurred. The doctors had told her and Kate that they could go home today at noon, and Bug was taking the afternoon off to spend with Lily. The morgue had been quiet, for once, and Jordan, Nigel, Garret and Sidney, who had transferred back from nights to fill in the gap when they went in the hospital, could handle it themselves.

Lily smiled and shook her head to clear away the sleep. She looked at the clock on the wall across from her, and it was eleven thirty. She had been transferred to a private room when Bug was released; and the aloneness took some getting used to. Not that she was always alone; she wasn't. Bug came to visit her every day after work and brought Madeleine with him, and she saw nurses regularly when he wasn't there.

She yawned and pushed off the bedclothes so she could sit up properly. She used the tiny bathroom attached to her room and sat down on her bed, waiting for the nurse to come and release her.

At five minutes to twelve, the nurse came and gave her the papers to sign. She also gave Lily the same antibiotics she had given Bug and Nigel and Kate, who she was going to see next.

Lily signed the papers, had her IV removed and got dressed in her regular clothing. After gathering up anything that was hers from her room, putting them in the over-night bag she had with her, grabbing the vase of lilies Bug had sent her and tucking it under her arm, she left her room and went down to reception to wait for Bug.

Bug came at five after, picked her up and they went home to spend a relaxing afternoon watching movies at their apartment with Madeleine.

XXX

"Just sign here then you can leave," said the nurse, holding the paper out to Kate. Kate quickly read the sheet then signed it in her neat handwriting. Kate smiled as the nurse removed her IV.

She quietly changed into her clothes and grabbed her backpack, which had all the things she had brought with her in it. She grabbed the vase of flowers Bug had sent her, too, and carried it in both hands so as not to drop it. She knew he had only sent them because he hadn't visited her, but it was a nice gesture all the same.

Kate left the hospital and stopped outside. She hadn't arranged for anyone to give her a ride home, she realized. She looked across the street and saw a phone booth, and decided to call Henry.

She looked left then right, and crossed the street when it was devoid of cars. After fishing around her bag for change, she slipped a quarter into the slot and dialled Henry's number.

"Hello?" Henry's familiar voice said over the payphone.

"Hi Henry, it's Kate. Listen, I know it is lunchtime, and you're probably busy, but I was wondering if you could pick me up from the hospital— they released me early and I didn't arrange a ride."

"Sure Kate. I'll be there in a few," said Henry, and Kate hung up. She watched the cars wiz past for a moment before quickly crossing the street again when the coast was clear. She waited outside the hospital for Henry.

It didn't take him long to arrive; his blue Civic Coupe drove up to the curb and Henry rolled down his window and smiled at Kate.

"Hop in," he said, and Kate opened the passenger's side door and did, making sure not to break the vase as she balanced it in her lap and did up her seatbelt.

"Who sent you the flowers?" asked Henry, pulling away from the hospital and starting the short drive to their townhouses.

"Bug, err, Dr. Vijay. We call him Bug. He works at the morgue with me," she explained. He nodded.

"Well that was nice of him." Kate nodded. "So... who is he?"

"Bug? He's the entomologist at the morgue—"

"Not him. I meant whoever you're seeing." Kate made a face.

"And what makes you think I'm seeing someone?" she asked shifting the vase on her lap into a more comfortable position.

"Oh I don't know— the fact that you've been smiling non-stop, you've got that giddy 'new love' look in your eyes, the fact that you're blushing right now—"

"Okay. So there... there might be someone. Maybe. I'm not really sure yet." She glanced at her friend. "Is it really that obvious?"

"Not really. I just happen to be very perceptive." Henry paused. "So, what's his name?" Kate sighed.

"There really is no getting around you, is there?" Henry shook his head. "Fine. Alright. His name is Nigel. He's a criminalist." Henry whistled.

"He's a criminalist? Katie, what are you getting yourself into?"

"Nothing's for sure, yet. I mean, we haven't even gone on an official first date yet!"

"Well, take my advice: if you want it to last, don't rush things." Kate smiled at Henry.

"Okay."

Henry pulled into his driveway and pulled the key out of the ignition. "We're home." Kate nodded and opened her door.

She pulled on her backpack and held the vase under one arm as she got out of the car, then closed the door with her foot and walked across the lawn to her front door.

"Thanks, Henry!" she said as an afterthought before entering her house. Henry smiled and waved to her before going into his own.

XXX

It was dinner time and Kate was nearly bored to tears. A whole day without the morgue, and no one to spend it with! What was a girl to do? She wasn't allowed back at the morgue until tomorrow afternoon— and she knew there would be a huge pile of paperwork to do when she got back. Maybe she should call someone to have dinner.

She decided that Nigel would be off his shift by seven; she would call and ask him if we wanted to have dinner or something. Or would that be too presumptuous? 

She didn't have a clue where they stood in their relationship. He had kissed her, confessed to being attracted to her, physically and intellectually. But that didn't necessarily mean he wanted a 'relationship' relationship. It just meant that he was attracted to her. She would have to go out on a limb; but if he said yes...

Her stomach fluttered. _Butterflies?_ she thought, _I haven't had butterflies since high school._

At seven, she had made up her mind. She was going to call. She picked up her phone and slowly dialled his cell number. She took a deep breath.

"_Hello?_" Nigel's voice came drifting out of the phone almost lazily.

"Hey, Nigel," said Kate. She heard him have a quick intake of breath. "I was just wondering if you want to have dinner or something." The words came out in a bit of a rush— she hadn't meant for them to, but they did. She silently hoped he had understood her.

"_Sure!_" he said excitedly. "_I'm just leaving the morgue now. Do you want to go out, stay in and order...? Yow Chang's good._"

"I like Yow Chang's."

"Okay. I'll pick some up on my way over. See you."

"Bye," she said and hung up. She leaned against her kitchen counter and took another deep breath.

She had done it; asked Nigel out. And he had responded with a cheerful and excited, "Sure!"

So he was interested. Well, that was a relief.

She realized she was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. And old socks with a hole in one toe that was annoying but she never got around to throwing them out. Would he be expecting her to dress up? She shook her head. It was take-out. They'd probably watch a movie. It wasn't something you dressed up for. ...But she really should change her socks.

She walked up the stairs to her bedroom and pulled off her socks when she got there. She riffled through her drawer, but found she didn't have any clean socks.

_Barefoot it is, then,_ she thought, tossing the holey socks in her laundry hamper. She walked back downstairs and flopped on the couch. Grabbing the remote, she flipped channels and waited for her date to arrive.

XXX

Nigel got on his bike and left the morgue quickly, stopping at Yow Chang's to pick up dinner. He got the basic two-person meal, a little of everything since he didn't know what she preferred.

When he got to her townhouse he parked his bike far up the driveway and took off his helmet. He could see that the TV was on through the window even though the curtains were drawn— they were sheer. He hadn't noticed this when he had last been at Kate's house.

He hadn't really noticed much then, he realized. They had talked and had coffee, but he hadn't taken the time to take a good look around. He remembered there was a lot of white; cream walls, white cupboards, white sofa with cream pillows... but that was it. The layout had escaped him. He couldn't remember if there had been photographs on the walls or tables. He had a vague idea where the bathroom was.

He decided to pay more attention this time around. He wanted to see if her house reflected her. His place sure did— black leather sofa, England flag hanging in the hallway, pictures of his friends from the morgue everywhere, as his work was his entire life nowadays.

He got up and walked to the door, holding his helmet under one arm and the bag of Chinese food in the other. He used his elbow the ring the bell.

XXX

Kate heard the bell and got up to answer the door. As expect, Nigel stood in her doorway, food under one arm and motorcycle helmet under the other. She noticed that he had gotten his cast off. His hair was loosely pushed behind his ears, and he was wearing jeans that were similar to hers, his leather jacket and a button-up shirt over a white t-shirt that showed because he had the top three buttons undone. He looked very handsome, in a rugged sort of way.

"Hi," he said, a little shyly. Kate smiled at him.

"Uh, come in," she said, stepping aside so he could. He walked in and slipped off his running shoes, putting them on the little mat she had by the door where all her shoes were lined up. Well, not _all_ her shoes, but some of them.

It was a little awkward, to say the least. Kate took his jacket and hung it on the back of one of her dining room chairs, where it looked so out of place it was almost laughable. Her house was unnaturally clean; everything looked like it had just been scrubbed down with bleach.

They sat down on the couch and began to eat their dinner, barely saying one word to each other. Some movie was on TV, but neither was really paying much attention. They were both avoiding the other's eyes while trying to look at them. It was not an easy thing to do.

This was Nigel's second quiet meal with someone he cared about in a week. The first, obviously, had been his lunch with Bug. Though the quiet had seemed far less uncomfortable to Nigel. This one was very, very uncomfortable. He wondered is Kate felt the same way.

She did. She was trying to think of something to say, but she felt as if her brain had just shut off. She couldn't think of one intelligent thing to talk about.

"Do you want to watch a movie or something?" she asked suddenly. Nigel looked down at her, happy she had broken the silence.

"Sure. What movies do you have?"

Kate got up and walked to a little cabinet beside her TV. The top half was a bookshelf, which was stuffed with cookbooks, medical journals and romance novels, a slightly weird combination, and the bottom half had closed doors. She opened them, and Nigel saw there were a lot of DVDs stored in it.

"What do you feel like watching?" she asked, gesturing toward the DVDs. Nigel got off the couch and went on his knees beside Kate in front of the cabinet.

"I don't know, what do you feel like watching?" Kate smiled at him and thought about it.

"How about a horror movie?" she asked, unsure what genre he was into. She knew he was a Goth at one point; she wasn't sure if he was into dark, scary movies, or if they reminded him too much of work and preferred happy ending, sappy ones.

"Okay. What one?"

"You pick."

Nigel looked over her movies and picked an easy one, _The Ring_. He'd seen it a million times; he didn't even find it scary anymore. Kate grinned at him.

"Good choice. That one _still_ scares the pants off me." Nigel flashed her one of his huge grins and she scowled then punched him in the arm. "Not literally!" He acted like her punch hadn't hurt, though in all truthfulness, it had. She was one strong woman.

Kate put in the DVD and pressed play. They sat back on the couch, not apart but not very close, either, and watched the movie. Kate was scared. She didn't handle scary movies very well, and _The Ring_ had been one of the first she ever saw. It still scared her, just as it had when she first saw it. She couldn't help but shiver and draw her knees to her chest during the scary parts.

Nigel, of course, noticed this. She was shivering like crazy, practically shaking the whole couch. And when she drew her feet up in an almost fetal-position? It, for some reason, turned him on. Made him want to hold her; protect her from danger. Make her feel safe.

Kate actually yelped about halfway through the movie, and Nigel did what was his instinct; he gathered her up in his arms and hugged her. Kate was surprised when he did this, of course, but she didn't stop him. She liked the way his body pressed against hers felt, how his heartbeat and hers were off sync so his would beat, then hers would, and so on. It was calming.

She snuggled into his embrace and curled up into a ball, her head against his chest. He sighed, and his breath tickled her ear. She giggled, which was so un-Kate-like that Nigel's mouth fell open a little in a shocked way. Kate didn't notice this, and he quickly regained his composure.

They stayed this way until the movie ended. It was ten o'clock, late by the morgue staff's standards, as they usually had early mornings, when Kate turned off the DVD player. Kate didn't want to move; she was too comfortable.

Nigel didn't know if he was supposed to leave or not. Kate was still snuggled against him, which he took as a sign she didn't want him to go, but it was late and he did have work in the morning.

"Kate..." he whispered in her ear. Kate shivered. She knew it was stupid, but she loved the way he said her name. Maybe it was the accent, but it made her feel all tingly when he said it.

"Yes, Nigel?" she said. He smiled. He decided not to let on that he thought it was time to leave unless she showed any indication that she wanted him to; which so far, she hadn't.

"It was quiet." Kate laughed and sat up stretching her arms behind her back.

"So? Sometimes silence is good," she pointed out, "As long as it isn't uncomfortable. Did you think it was?"

"Well, no... I just thought I'd mention it."

"But now it isn't quiet anymore." Nigel smiled.

"True. But I could also point out how beautiful you look right now, and it wouldn't mean that you weren't." Kate raised her eyebrows.

"Are you hitting on me?"

"No," he said, mentally kicking himself, "Just stating a fact." She frowned a little.

"Too bad. You hitting on me would make my day," she said flirtatiously. Nigel didn't know how to react.

"Uh..." he said, trying to think of something to say. "You _wanted_ me to hit on you?" Kate nodded.

"Yep."

"That doesn't sound very Kate-like to me," he said, putting his arm over the back of the couch.

"Kate-like is hard to define right now. I'm trying to grow up at the moment. Like Jordan." Nigel snorted.

"Grow up like Jordan? I'll admit she's become more mature, especially with her romantic endeavours..."

"Exactly! She's stopped running away, and so have I." Kate scooted a little closer to Nigel. Nigel felt a little uncomfortable.

"You're sitting closer to me," he observed. He mentally kicked himself again. Stating the obvious, much!

"It seems I am."

"Well, then." He paused. "What I am supposed to do?" he asked a little playfully.

"You're supposed to try to kiss me," she said, and Nigel was surprised by her bluntness.

"I am, am I?" Kate nodded. "Will I succeed?" Kate grinned.

"You'll just have to see and find out, now won't you?" Nigel nodded.

"I suppose I will," he said, and he leaned in toward her. Kate tilted her face upward, accepting his kiss and parting her lips slightly, inviting his tongue inside. He kissed her gently, one arm still slung loosely over the back of the couch, the 

other resting on her knee without him knowing how it got there. When he realised it was on her knee, of course, he removed it, hoping she hadn't noticed its presence.

Kate opened her eyes, which she had closed while he was kissing her, and gave him a confused look. "Why'd you do that?" she asked.

"Sorry, Kate. I didn't even realise..." he mumbled, blushing furiously and looking at a picture of her in front of the Eiffel Tower that was sitting on top of a shelf on her wall, so as to avoid looking at her.

"I meant why you moved it," she said seductively. Nigel's eyebrows went up in a flash.

"Well, I... I just assumed you didn't want it to be there," he said. "But if you do..." He placed his hand on her knee again. "I wouldn't mind placing it there again." Kate grinned at him.

"Why would you assume that I wouldn't want it to be there? You know what they say: If you assume, if makes an ass out of you and me." Nigel gave her a look.

"Why do they say that?" Kate sighed.

"It's a joke. 'A-s-s' is the first three letters in 'assume' then there's a 'u' and then 'm-e'. So if you assume it makes an ass out of you and me..." Nigel got it. He laughed.

"Oh, I get it. Funny." Kate nodded, unsure how to proceed. Sure, this flirting and seductiveness was all well and good, but she really wanted Nigel to stay the night, as awful as that sounds after a first date. She really liked him, and there was just something about him that made her want to jump his bones.

She leaned in and kissed him again, a little more urgently. Nigel felt the urgency and wasn't sure how to react. Kate made that happen often, apparently.

Her teeth gently grazed his bottom lip, and he felt that tell-tale feeling that made him blush bright red. She was practically sitting in his lap; it wasn't like she wouldn't notice... and, of course, she did.

"You like that, huh?" she said, moving herself over so she was almost straddling his stomach. She began kissing him again, and again she used her teeth graze his bottom lip, then nibble on it. He was completely dumbfounded; he thought Kate would want to take things slow, make it last. Obviously she was more in a rush than he originally thought.

She put her hands on his chest and, without breaking the kiss, began unbuttoning his shirt. He made no effort to stop her, why would he? But he was still very nervous.

She pushed the shirt off his shoulders and put her hands on his chest again, trying to tug his t-shirt off, but failing because it was tucked into his jeans.

"What are you doing?" he asked, pulling back to break the kiss. Kate raised an eyebrow at him.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"It looks like you're trying to undress me," he said. Kate smiled at him.

"Then it _is_ obvious," she said, tugging at his t-shirt again. Nigel was a little shocked again.

"But... I mean, are you sure...?" Kate looked up at him, and he desire in her eyes was enough of an answer.

He scooped her up in his arms, and, without another word, they made their way to her bedroom, bumping into walls and shedding clothing along the way.


	14. Chapter 14

_Ahem. Well. blushes I was wondering how to, uh, make that happen, because it's critical to the plot. One of my friends suggested that Kate was 'subtle as a train wreck', and I should make her character take lead and be the dominant one. So. Right. On to the next chapter, then, chaps... –Belle_

_P.S. Casey will be continuing writing the story after this chapter now that she's better, so yeah. I suppose this is good-bye. Tears up Thanks Amelia for the comment!_

**Chapter Fourteen: There's Something About Nigel...**

_Buzz!_ Nigel opened his eyes. He was lying in an unfamiliar bed with red sheets and white pillows, with a beautiful woman lying in his arms. He heard the buzzing noise again, and realized it was his new cell phone, which set on vibrate.

He slowly untangled himself from the sheets and Kate then got up, being as quiet as he could. He didn't want to wake the sleeping beauty; she looked too peaceful.

He grabbed and slipped on his boxers, and collected what clothing he could see was his as he walked out of the bedroom, down the stairs and into the living room. His phone was lying on the floor, buzzing loudly.

He dropped his clothes in a pile on the floor and picked up his phone, flipping it open and putting it to his ear.

"What?" he hissed, still being quiet so as not to wake Kate.

"_Why aren't you at work?_" Jordan's voice drifted through the phone, loud as ever. He hoped she wasn't loud enough to wake Kate.

"I slept in." He yawned, trying to stifle it. He was tired, even after is almost-a-full-night's-sleep. The rest of the night had been taken up by other activities; which was why, he supposed, he was tired.

"_Well, get to work, and fast, before Garret notices you're not here,_" said Jordan.

"Will do. Bye." He closed the phone and put it back on the floor. He grabbed his socks and put them on, then his t-shirt and button-up shirt. He picked up his phone again then looked around for his jeans, trying to remember where they had 'fallen' off.

He spotted a pair of jeans over by the stairs and grabbed them, pulling them on as he made his way to Kate's front door. They seemed a little tight, but he couldn't worry about that— he needed to get to work before Garret noticed he was missing. He had probably just gained a few pounds, that was all. He grabbed his jacket and put on his shoes, pushing his phone into his pocket. Then he took his helmet and left the townhouse, jumped on his bike and headed straight for the Boston morgue.

XXX

The elevator doors opened and Nigel stepped out, holding his helmet under his arm and trying to fix his hair with his free hand. Emmy rushed up to him before he had taken four paces.

"Dr. Townsend, you're late! You are supposed to be doing bullet analysis for Jordan's shooting case and... Are those the same clothes you wore yesterday?" Nigel blushed.

"I know, yes they are, and call me Nigel, Love," he said, quickly answering all her questions while walking toward Trace. Emmy stopped and tilted her head to one side and pushed her glasses up her nose. Nigel was never late. He looked very contempt that morning. Yet he was tired looking. And he was wearing the same clothes as the day before. Emmy shook her head.

"_Somebody_ got lucky," she muttered with a smile as she went behind her desk to answer the phone that was now ringing.

XXX

"Nigel!" said Jordan as he walked into Trace moments later. "Where were you? I've been stuck doing these analysis all by myself— are those the same clothes you wore yesterday?"

"I was in _Boston_, I'm sorry, and yes they are," he said, grabbing his lab coat and pulling it on. Jordan narrowed her eyes at him for a moment, until they brightened.

"You got lucky!" she practically squealed. Nigel turned crimson, but ignored the accusation.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Clean the stomach bullet and look at striations. So... who is she? Anyone I know?" Nigel was still blushing rather obviously.

Bug walked in, holding a file for Jordan. He handed it to her when he noticed Nigel.

"Nigel, why are you pink?" he asked his British friend. Jordan grinned at Bug.

"Because he's_ embarrassed_," she said, "Because I figured out that he got lucky with someone last night." Bug raised his eyebrows.

"How d'you figure?"

"He's wearing the same clothes as yesterday, he had a really stupid grin on when he came in, he was late for work because he 'slept in', and yet he is obviously still tired," she said triumphantly. Bug nodded. He looked at his friend.

"It's a good case, Nigel," said Bug. He leaned in close to his friend and took a deep breath through his nose. "You smell like vanilla. And since I'm guessing you don't wear perfume, all the evidence indicates that you—"

"'Got lucky', I know," he said, groaning, "Will you all please just leave this be?"

"Leave what be?" asked Lily, walking into the room with Madeleine in her front pouch on her front.

"Nigel got lucky," said Jordan.

"But he doesn't want to tell us who she is, apparently," continued Bug. Lily raised her eyebrows. She looked at Nigel.

"Come on, Nigel, you can trust _us_," Lily said, smiling at him.

"Yeah, Nige, when have we not been able to keep a secret?" Jordan put in quickly. Bug's snort of laughter ruined that argument.

"When have you been able to, is a better question. I'm not telling you! My sex life is none of any of your business."

"Why would it be?" asked Woody, entering the room, too. It seemed everyone had something to do or someone they needed in Trace, but Nigel just felt like they were ganging up on him.

"I have no idea, Woodrow, but these guys—" He gestured toward the group of his co-workers, "Are playing twenty questions and trying to get me to tell them who I was with last night. But it's not going to happen, because, for once, I'd really rather you all didn't know!"

Woody nodded. "Well, whoever he is—" Lily giggled and Jordan punched Woody in the shoulder, causing him to stop mid-sentence, while Bug looked amused and Nigel rolled his eyes.

"She, Woodrow. She. I decided a _long_ time ago that I was straight."

"Of course you did. And that's why you hit on me a few years ago."

"And slapped Trey on the butt that one time," added Jordan.

"And asked me to marry you," Bug stuck in. Lily raised her eyebrows at this but said nothing.

"Hitting on Woody was a joke, the thing with Trey... I was just being friendly! And I only asked you to marry me because I needed a Green Card! Come on, none of you actually think I'm gay... do you?"

"I don't," said Lily. "After all the times you tried to get in my pants, there's no way in Hell that you're not straight." Bug looked at Lily, shocked.

"He did _what_?! When was this?!" Bug seemed outraged by the fact that Nigel had been pursuing Lily. Nigel rolled his eyes.

"Forever ago, Bug," said Nigel exasperatedly. He turned to Lily. "And I was hardly trying to get in your—"

He stopped at Garret walked into Trace, looking rather angry.

"Why are you all in Trace? Don't you all have _work_ to do?"

Everyone broke off and walked in different directions; Jordan to re-examine her body, Woody to fill out paperwork on said body, Bug to dissect blow-fly larvae found at a crime scene and Lily to prepare to talk to grieving families.

Garret stood in the doorway as everyone shuffled out and waited until they had all disappeared before letting the door close with him on the inside. Nigel looked up from the bullet he was cleaning. Garret had a funny look on his face that Nigel couldn't say he'd ever seen before.

"Something wrong, Dr. M.?" He asked cautiously.

"Who's pants are you wearing, Nigel? Because they sure aren't yours." Nigel looked down at the jeans he had put on in the rush to get to work. They did look a little tight on him. And _not_ in a flattering way.

"I believe they're mine. I've just gained weight," Nigel explained. The corners of Garret's turned up a little, a sign that a he was trying hard not to smile.

"Then why are they six inches too short?" Nigel blinked and looked at his ankles. His _exposed_ ankles.

"Err, I have no idea," he confessed, "I highly doubt I've gotten taller... so, eh, they must not be mine."

"I'm not even going to ask," said Garret, turning at leaving Trace, letting the door swing closed behind him. Nigel blushed, even though no one was there to see him. He was wearing Kate's pants!!


	15. Chapter 15

_I know that was a short chapter, and I apologise on Belle's behalf. I didn't give her much to work with; but we needed a funny filler before the sad part so it all evens out. So, thank you, Belle, but I am _back_! This chapter is rather long, but if I cut it off anywhere in the middle it wouldn't sound right... the nest few chapters will be shorter after this and will hopefully even things out... anyway, on with the story! –Casey! :)_

**Chapter Fifteen: Angry Tears and Discoveries**

Kate woke up slowly, feeling happier than she had in a while. She had slept with Nigel Townsend... and she couldn't complain. She turned over slowly and put her arm out, intending to put a hand on his chest, but her hand hit the sheets instead. She opened her eyes and sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest and looking around in confusion. Where did Nigel go?

She untangled herself from the sheets and got out of bed, and, pulling on a robe, went down the stairs and checked the kitchen and living room. Nigel wasn't there. Nor did she see any of his clothing... and his helmet was no longer on the counter.

He had _left_. He had left, without leaving a note or waking her up... she felt tears coming to her eyes. She should never have trusted him. She knew he was a one-night-stand kind of guy; she should never have believed he would be any different with her.

Kate went back upstairs and walked into her bathroom, wiping away the tears and standing in front of her mirror. Her hair was messy and she had a hickey on her neck. _Great,_ she thought, _something to remember him by._

She walked to her shower and turned it on, letting the water heat up, as hot as it would go, and slipped off her robe. She got into the shower and let the water scald her skin, turning it pink; washing away every trace of the man who had stolen her heart.

She stood there for ten minutes, just letting the hot water run over her. She didn't want to smell like him.

After a while she turned off the water, leaned against the wall and slid down it, sitting on the floor of the shower. She pulled her knees up to her chest and put her forehead against them, letting her tears fall onto her kneecaps and mix with the water from her shower.

She shouldn't be so upset; he was just one man. She had had her heart broken many times before; she'd been left at the alter, right before her wedding... 

but for some reason, this was different. _He_ was different. She had really trusted Nigel. And he had left after they had slept together. Didn't he know better than to break the cardinal rule?

She had to be at work after lunch— Garret refused to let her come back to work until then. Her internal clock told her it was about ten thirty, maybe a little later. She had pleanty of time to just sit here and cry.

A bark and the sound of Binky scratching at the bathroom door made her sit up and pull a towel around her, he needed to be let out.

She followed her fluffy little dog as he hopped to the back door, and Kate opened it, letting him outside. She watched him hop around the yard, sniffing everything before he decided where to pee. He lifted his little leg then ran back to the house and hopped up and down infront of the door. Kate almost smiled and she opened it to let him back inside; but resisted because the pain in her chest didn't want her to smile.

She went back to her bedroom and got dressed, pulling on a clean pair of dark jeans and a blue silk blouse with a camisole underneath. She didn't have any clean socks so she decided she would just wear open-toed shoes without socks; no one would notice.

She walked down her stairs to her kitchen and put on the coffee pot, waiting for it to make her a cuppa joe so she could properly wake up. Even after her long, hot shower she felt tired; she hadn't gotten much sleep, after all.

That's when she noticed the jeans tucked beneath her coffee table. She remembered her jeans being flung in the direction of the stairs, not the living room. She curiously went and picked them up, noticing how long the legs were.

She pulled the tag from the back and read it, just to be sure, then couldn't help herself from grinning. Nigel had left his jeans at her house. Which meant he had either left in his boxers, or he had worn her jeans. She thought it was the latter.

She grabbed her hairbrush and began to run it through her curly blonde hair, thinking. He had worn her jeans when he left. Wouldn't he have noticed? It wasn't like they were the same size, or anywhere close for that matter. How had he made a mistake like that? He must have been in a hurry.

After brushing her hair, Kate looked at the clock. It was eleven thirty. She could go to work now. She poured herself a cup of coffee from the pot and slipped on a pair of navy open-toed shoes with about an inch heal.

A good, long walk to the morgue was just what she needed to clear her head. She still didn't have a car, of course, and she really should start looking for a new one since her old one hadn't turned up yet, even though she had reported it stolen. It was bound to pop up sometime, but in the meantime she couldn't always catch a ride with other people or walk.

She grabbed Nigel's pants and stuffed them in a plastic bag before leaving her townhouse and locking the door behind her.

XXX

Kate stepped off the elevator and walked right past Emmy, who was on the phone and didn't notice her, and went to Nigel's desk. Neither Bug nor Nigel was in the room, so she quickly placed the bag on Nigel's desk then turned away before the tears could fall.

She would not cry again. Not where he might see her. He may have left in the morning, but she wasnt't going to give him the satisfation of knowing he'd made her upset. Or worse; him apologising.

She walked into Trace and pulled on a labcoat, aware that he was in the room but ignoring that fact. She tucked her hair behind her ears and turned to leave Trace to find Dr. Macy to give her an assignment when she heard his voice.

"Hello, Kate," he said with a huge grin on his face. Kate stopped momentarily, but took a deep breath and didn't respond. Instead she walked out of Trace and left him sitting there, confused.

Nigel watched Kate walk out with a mixture of confusion and worry on his face. She hadn't even said "hello" back! What had he done to make her so mad at him?

Kate stormed down the hall, narrowly avoiding crashing into Jordan.

"Woah there, Kate! What's the rush?" she asked with a smile. Kate rolled her eyes at her co-worker.

"Nothing. Where's Dr. Macy?"

"In his office."

"Bye," said Kate coldly, walking away from Jordan, who had a bemused expression. What was up with Kate?

"Dr. Macy, do you have an assignment for me?" asked Kate impatiently when she got to Garret's office. Garret looked up from the autopsy report he had been 

studying and looked at her. She looked angry at someone, and he was glad it wasn't him.

"Sure. There's a John Doe down in the crypt that needs to be autopsied. Kate, are you feeling alright? You don't look well."

"I'm fine!" she huffed and walked out of his office toward the crypt.

Nigel had stuck his head out of the door to Trace, looking for her. He saw her coming and quickly ducked back in, hoping she hadn't seen him. She hadn't.

She flung the crypt's doors open and walked inside, her heals clicking on the cold cement floor. She opened the John Doe's drawer and lifted the sheet from his face.

"Ugh!" she said angrily. He had long black-brown hair, brown eyes and a promident nose. He looked a lot like Nigel. Just her luck.

Hot tears threated to fall again. Why had she let her gaurd down? Why had she trusted him? One of the tears slid slowly down her cheek, and she didn't even bother to brush it away. Why had she been so stupid? Why had she thought Boston would be different? Why had she thought _he_ would be different?

She didn't hear the door to the crypt open, nor did she hear Nigel enter quietly. She didn't hear him walk up to her, and she didn't feel him watching her.

Nigel stood less than a foot behind Kate, thinking that she must know he was there, but completely ignoring him. He could tell she was crying. She was standing over a John Doe. Maybe she knew him?

He wanted to comfort her, help her. So he walked up closer behind her and slipped his arms around her middle, brushing his lips against the nape of her neck.

She stiffened, then whirled around, shoving him backwards. He stumbled and fell; he wasn't expecting to be pushed.

Landing on his butt, Nigel yelped in shock. "What the bloody..."

"What the Hell do you think you're doing?" yelled Kate, wiping the tears from her cheeks and putting her hands on her hips. Nigel looked up at her, confused.

"I was just..." Kate crossed her arms.

"Just what?" she snarled. He stood up, smoothing his shirt down.

"Just... trying to comfort you. You looked sad," he said lamely, wondering why she was so upset. "I didn't know you'd go all ninja on me."

"Oh, so I'm going 'all ninja on you'? I didn't know it was against the law to defend myself!" she said, her tone betraying that she wasn't really angry anymore, just hurting. Nigel could hear the hurt as her voice cracked.

"Kate, are you okay? Why are you so mad at me?"

"You _left_!" she yelled, tears coming to her eyes again, threatening to fall. "We spend what I _thought_ was a wonderful night together, and then you _left_! No note, you didn't _bother_ to wake me up... I don't want to be one of your one-night-stands, Nigel!"

Nigel gaped at her. "_That's_ what this is all about?" he half-laughed. "Kate, I didn't want to wake you because you looked so peaceful when you were asleep! So happy! I didn't think to leave a note. I didn't know you'd be so upset."

She didn't look convinced, instead, the tears began to slid down her slightly-reddened cheeks. "I didn't force anything to happen last night, Kate. You were the one who... If you didn't want to sleep with me, you didn't have to. I don't want you to be a one-night-stand, either. I care about you, and I'm sorry I made you feel like I didn't."

Kate looked down at her shoes, realizing that she may have overreacted a little. Nigel cautiously reached out to her and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, and was happily surprised when she didn't object.

"I... I overreacted a little," said Kate so quietly Nigel had to strain his ears to hear her. "I'm... sorry. I just have trouble trusting people, and sometimes I..." She trailed off, forgetting what she was going to say.

Nigel took a step closer to her and put his arms around her in a loose hug. She rested her head against his chest, and he gently put a kiss on her temple before resting his chin on her head. The tears kept falling, though for what reason Nigel had no clue. So he stood there and held her while she silently cried in his arms.

XXX

Abby Macy, dressed in light jeans and a green camisole, was skipping down the halls of the Boston Morgue, in search of her father, who so far seemed to be avoiding her, because she couldn't find him anywhere, and the ninth floor wasn't that big!

She checked Trace (and was told by Bug that she wasn't supposed to be back here without a suprovisor), and Garret's office (which she didn't snoop through! Well, not really), but still couldn't find him. She even checked Jordan's 

office, but Jordan had told her she hadn't seen him around, and that maybe she should check with Emmy.

She didn't feel like asking Emmy. She was in her twenties— she could do things for herself!

_Maybe he's in the crypt,_ she thought with a smile. She went up to the doors and pushed them open.

Abby grinned at what was before her. Nigel Townsend, the really smart ME was kissing the new one, Kate Switzer. Of course they broke apart when they heard her open the door, but she couldn't act like she hadn't seen anything.

"Ahem. Sorry to inerupt, but have either of you seen my dad?" Kate shook her head and Nigel did likewise.

"Not since earlier, sorry," said Kate, blushing. "Listen, Abby—" Abby held up her hands to silence her.

"Don't worry. I can keep a secret. No one will be hearing about it from me," she said and left the crypt.

Kate looked at Nigel, the blush not entirely gone. He shrugged. Kate smiled and gave him a peck on the lips before going over to the John Doe, who's drawer had been open for nearly forty-five minutes already. Nigel left without another word.

XXX

It was ten minutes later, and Abby still hadn't found her father. She had never known the morgue to be so big!

She decided that, since every other option had been used, she would ask Emmy where her father was.

"Emmy?" asked Abby shyly, walking up to the dark-haired woman. Emmy was fixing a stack of papers, but looked up.

"Hello, Miss Macy. What can I do for you?"

"Have you seen my dad?" Emmy pushed her glasses up her nose.

"Not since he left for that pick-up down on Montgomery. I don't think he's back yet," she said with a smile. Abby sighed.

"Thanks Emmy. Will you tell him I dropped by, and ask him to call me?" Emmy nodded and picked up a pink while-you-were-out note.

"No worries, I'll put it on top so he'll read it first."

"Thanks," said Abby. She went to the elevator and left, the skip in her step gone.

Just as she disapeared inside the elevator a dark haired man with slightly tanned skin and dark brown eyes stepped off it.

In his hand was a tan envelope. He aproached Emmy and held up the envelope.

"This is for Dr. Macy," he said, putting it down in front of her. "Make sure he gets it. He'll know what it is."

Emmy nodded and smiled at him. "Sure thing, Sir. Have a nice day!" she called as he turned and left without saying another word.

She looked down at the envelope with an air of puzzelment but shook it off and put it with Dr. Macy's while-you-were-outs. It would sit there waiting for him until the next morning.


	16. Chapter 16

_Just so people know, I do like constructive criticism, and I would very much appreciate it if people pointed out and grammar/spelling/information errors in any of my writing. I currently don't have a Beta other than myself and occasionally Belle and I swap stuff so we read over each other's works, but neither of us is perfect, nor is spell-check, even, so if anyone does see a problem, please feel free to point it out. I won't be offended; honestly I'd be very happy. –Casey :) _

**Chapter Sixteen: Inside the Envelope**

"Dr. Macy, here are your while-you-were-outs from yesterday," said Emmy, looking distracted. She handed him the pink slips of paper (of which there were many), and the envelope then went back to some paperwork. Garret shook his head and went to his office to read his while-you-were-outs, and to prepare for the meeting that morning, which involved the envelope he dreaded reading.

Garret put down the envelope he was holding and took a look at his while-you-were-outs. The first one was a note to call his daughter because she stopped by the morgue at two looking for him.

Garret's eyebrows shot up. Abby... at the morgue... looking for him? She was either in trouble or had something really important to tell him. He was about to pick up the phone when he glanced at the envelope lying on his desk. The meeting. He didn't have time to deal with Abby at the moment.

The morgue had secretly been under review for the last few weeks, and an inspection had taken place after everyone had gone home the night before last. Though things had been hectic, he hoped nothing too bad would show up on the report. He wasn't going to open it yet; he was planning to when the gang arrived for the meeting he had called that morning.

The only one who hadn't returned his call was Jordan. He suspected she was at Woody's apartment instead of her own, but he didn't have Woody's number, so he just had to trust that she'd be at work on time.

The envelope was looking pretty tempting. He wanted to read it, make sure they were in the clear before he read it out loud to his employees, his friends. He hoped that the reviewer, a Mr. Carlos Rodriguez, didn't completely trash them, and that his inspection went well.

He heard a soft tapping and looked up to see Renee Walcott at his door, hitting her knuckles lightly on the frame. "How'd the inspection go?" she inquired.

Garret held up the envelope. "Haven't opened it yet." Renee raised her eyebrows.

"Why not?"

"I'm waiting for the gang to get here. If it's bad news, we should all find out together." Renee smiled and shook her head.

"Only you," she said quietly, then walked into his office. "But that's not all we need to talk about." Garret's eyebrows shot up.

"Should I be worried?" Renee chuckled.

"No, no, nothing like that. I just wanted to give you a heads up. There is some talk that the FEDs are going to want to take over one of your cases. I don't know which one; but if they start poking around, just give them what they want." Garret nodded, then looked down at the envelop again, turning it over in his hands as Renee turned to leave, walked to the door but stopped there.

She turned around again in the door way and looked at Garret, a small smile touching her lips. "Garret?"

He looked up. "Hm?"

"Good luck with your review."

XXX

The gang slowly filed into the breifing room along with the other morgue staff, including Emmy and even the AV guy, Brian, taking their places around the table and looking slightly nervous. Lily had finally found a daycare that she trusted, so Madeleine was absent.

Jordan had arrived on time, and Woody was there too. Bug and Nigel excahnged looks when Garret didn't come into the room right at seven; he was never late for anything.

Five minutes after seven Garret had worked up the nerve to face his staff and read them the review. He walked into the breifing room and took his place standing infront of them all.

He took a deep breath. "Okay," he said, "None of you know this, but the morgue has been under review for the last few weeks."

The staff gave each other shocked expressions. Under review? That had to be bad news.

"And I have the results right here." Garret held up the envelope shakily. "I thought we should read them together."

There were murmurs of agreement, but for the most part everyone stayed silent as Garret tugged on the sealed envelope and ripped it open, revealing a package of perhaps six or seven papers stapled together.

Garret put the empty envelope on the table and scanned the first page of the review quickly. He relaxed slightly.

"We passed," he said, and the group cheered. Garret read a little further down the page and a small smile apeared.

"We have the highest solve-rate in the country." The group cheered again, this time a little louder. Having the highest solve-rate was a big accomplishment; usually Las Vegas or New York won, never Boston.

Garret held up the papers and grinned with triumph. "There's more!" he said excitely. He had been reading more of it while his staff were loudly showing their pride, and he had flipped over a page. "And we all have to thank Carlos Rodriguez for this great review, because, and I quote, 'It would be my recomandation that the Boston Morgue receive more funding as of next month'—" Nigel whistled at his remark. "—And that a new ME be hired to help lessen the work load, because it is the only morgue in the greater Boston area.'" This was met by a shocked silence for a moment.

"A... a new ME?" said Nigel, looking a little shocked. "But we just got used to the last one!" Kate rolled her eyes.

"Thanks."

"Every new ME we get ends up dying, remember?" said Jordan, "...Except Kate, every other person who tried to join the family ends up getting killed somehow. That job is cursed. No ME is stupid enough to take it."

Kate raised an eyebrow, but no one noticed.

"No, this is good! We'll all have lighter loads; we do enough as it is, and lately there have been more suicides and accidentles than we had handle. Having another set of hands could really help out," pointed out Bug, and Lily agreed.

Garret shrugged. "Mr. Rodriguez has also provided a list of recomendations for the job... I think we should interview a couple and see what we think."

Jordan smiled almost giddily. "Can I help with the interviewing?" Garret sighed.

"No." Loud laughter by everyone in the room followed this blunt remark. Jordan put on a pout.

"Please?"

"Not a chance."

"Why not?" Garret gave her an exasperated look.

"You'll either scare them off, or decide right away you don't like them and not give them a fair chance. Jordan, I know you. I also know how stubborn you are, but we are not going to have this argument right now." Jordan's pout didn't disapear.

"Can we disscuss it after the meeting?" she asked.

"Fine. Now, on to more important matters... like handing out assignments." Everyone groaned.


	17. Chapter 17

_I made up a really good character a while back that I thought would be a great addition to the morgue; this was way back when it was still on the air (before some stupid person decided to cancel my favourite TV show). So I made said person up, and now I can finally add said person to the team! Yay! Though not quiet yet, I believe... anyway..._

_A future heads' up: I will be going away this weekend to the cottage, and they dont have internet gasp so there won't be any updates durring that time. That being said, I will try to write as many chapters as I can before then, and will continue when I return._

_PS This chapter was written and rewritten about six times, and I'm still not happy with it... but it's been a while since I updated, and I figured 'okay' was better than nothing. Belle was the one who convinced me to write this chapter, actually, and it was all her idea... so don't get mad at me if it sucks!!_

**Chapter Seventeen: "I bet you twenty bucks..."**

"A new ME..." said Nigel quietly, mulling over the idea. Kate elbowed him plafully.

"What are we going to do since everyone has paired off?" she asked jokingly, and he stared blankly at her. "You and me, Jordan and Woody, Lily and Bug... and I think there's something going on with Dr. Macy and Renee Walcott."

"Oh. Really? I thought they'd broken it off... whatever. There's always AV Brian or Emmy, and you never know; he or she might be married." Kate scoffed.

"Since when do you know a ME who's married?" Nigel shrugged.

"I don't, but it's not impossible." Kate grabbed a pen and dug around in her purse until she found a notepad.

"Are you prepared to put your money where your mouth is?" she asked, holding them up. Nigel's eyes narrowed.

"Depends what you have in mind."

"I bet that the new ME will be single—" said Kate, writing this down in point-form, "—female—" She jotted that down, too. "—attractive—" Another note. "And over twenty-eight years old." She added her signature to the bottem and offered Nigel the pen and notepad.

"Your turn. Winner get's twenty bucks from the loser." Nigel smiled.

"You're on," he said, taking the paper and pen, "I bet the new ME will seeing someone, female, moderately attractive and less than twenty-eight years old." He signed it like she had.

Kate snickered. "'Moderately attractive'? How would you define that?"

"Slightly over adverage-looking," he replied, handing her back the pen and paper. Kate wrinkled her nose.

"And who do you know who is 'slightly over adverage-looking'?" she asked. "Just so I know what range we're speaking in." Nigel thought about it.

"No one comes to mind. Jordan is gorgeous, you're beautiful and so is Lily, even Renee is good-looking..."

"Which is better, gorgeous or beautiful?" Nigel looked up at her, his train of thought leaving. She looked slightly angry.

"Why?" Kate put her hands on her hips.

"Because you said that Jordan is 'gorgeous', yet Lily and I are 'beautiful'. So, which is better?"

Inwardly he mentally kicked himself again. He did that a lot around Kate. He needed to censor what he said around her. Even an off-handed thought like that one could make her angry. _Time for damage control_, he thought.

"Beautiful, of course. If someone is gorgeous, everyone wants them and that attracts the wrong kind of attention. Notice how the murderers all think Jordan is hot," he said quickly. Kate seemed to think about this, then accepted it.

"Fine. Wait, what do we do if we're both wrong?" she asked, motioning toward the notepad she had put on the table beside her. "Who wins?"

"The person closest?" he suggested, "We see who got the most details right. Add them up like points. Most points wins." Kate nodded.

"You're on."

XXX

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No!"

"Pretty, pretty please?"

"Jordan," he warned, his tone advising her to be cautious. She ignored this.

"Come on Gare, can't I just sit in?"

"Nope."

XXX

"_Come on Gare, can't I just sit in?_" Bug stood outside Dr. Macy's office, listening. Nigel aproached him.

"_Nope,_" came Dr. Macy's reply through the thick wooden door.

"You think she's going to persuade him to let her sit in?" Bug asked his tall friend. Nigel shrugged.

"Dunno."

"I bet you twenty bucks she won't," confided Bug, turning his ear to the door again. More 'please?'s and 'no!'s could be heard in quick sucession.

"You're on," said Nigel.

XXX

"Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty—"

"Jordan!"

"—pretty please?" Garret sighed and put an elbow on his desk, leaning his head on his palm.

"I love you, but you're exausting." Jordan grinned.

"Is that a yes?"

"On one condition," said Garret, then shook his head. "No, several. First, you be quiet. Second, you be quiet. Third, you don't say anything to them. Fourth, you don't say anything to me then, and for a least an hour right now." Jordan pretended to think about it.

"Deal," she said, standing. She turned and walked toward his office door with a grin on her face.

XXX

The door to Dr. Macy's office open and a very content Jordan Cavanaugh stepped out of it, a huge smile on her face. Jordan closed the door behind her as Bug and Nigel looked at each other, partically in shock.

Nigel recovered first and quickly held out his hand. Bug groan, but reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He removed a twenty dollar bill and grudgingly shoved it into Nigel's hand.

"You win," he said, putting his wallet back into his pocket. Jordan looked from on man to the other.

"You bet against me, Bug?" she asked. Bug made a face as if to say, 'someone had to', even though Nigel had been thrown into the bet second, rather than making it.

"I won," said Nigel brightly. Jordan smiled at him and patten him on the chest friendily.

"Garret never could withstand a million 'pretty please's," she said, sticking her hands in her pockets. "I'll see you guys later, I'm needed in Autopsy 1."

She walked away from them toward the doors of Autopsy 1 down the hall.

The two parted, Bug feeling awful and Nigel giddy. He had no doubt he would win his bet with Kate, also. Not for the money... well, not only for the money, though it was a perk, but for the satisfaction of winning. Because Nigel Townsend did not lose.

Bug felt awful because not only had he underestimated Jordan, which was unheard of, but he had also lost a bet that he himself had started. He lost to Nigel because he asumed he was right. Which he wasn't. When was he ever?

_Sometimes it sucks to be Mahesh Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy_, he thought, wandering aimlessly trying to think of something better to do. He spotted Lily and smiled. _Then again, sometimes it doesn't._

"Lily!" he called and she turned toward him. She smiled.

"Hey, Bug," she said walking toward him. They met midway.

Bug put his arms around her and gave her a long, lingering kiss. They broke apart, Lily slightly breathless, and Bug was contented once again (as much as he usually is, that is).

"What was that for?" she inquired. He smiled.

"I love you," he replied, then, coming back to reality, "I have to go cut someone open. See you later." He turend and walked away, leaving a bemused Lily standing in the hallway. She turned and nearly bumped into Emmy, who was carrying a large stack of files.

"Here, Emmy, let me help you with those," Lily said as she took half of the files off the top of the pile, helping Emmy carry them to her already paperwork-ridden desk.

The two women looked up and saw AV Brian standing on ladder about six feet away, fiddling with a security camera in the corner of the room. In an attempt to get higher, he stood on tiptoe, and the ladder rocked dangerously.

Lily got a devious expression on her face.

"Say, Emmy, I bet you twenty dollars..."


	18. Chapter 18

_If you wants to hear Katy Perry's "_Thinking of You_", because it is mentioned briefly here, it can be found here: youtube(dot)com/watch?vqpuw7oH841c_

**Chapter Eighteen: Drowning In Interviewees**

Garret put with tongue between his teeth as he concentraited on the file before him. Carlos Rodriguez, the reviewer, had given him a list of recomandations in the envelope, stapled to the back of the review. Staring at the list now, Garret wondered what it would be like having one of these people working with him. Would any of them fit with the family? Would any be any good at their job? Would any of them be weird or crazy enough to stay once they met everyone and got settled?

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Didn't help.

The list seemed to grow longer every time he looked at it. There were so many to choose from!

Should he hire Alexis Evans, Carla Peterson, Michael Rodgers or Harry Luis? Anna Walker, Quinn Sanders, Ian Feilds or Maria Johnson? He quickly counted the names. Thirty-two. There were thirty-two names. He had to interview thiry-two people?!

He sighed and put down the list, then rested his forehead against the cool wood surface of his desk. It was late. His first interview was first thing the next morning, and Jordan would be sitting in on it. Joy, that would be fun. NOT! She was incapable to follow the rules he had set at the best of times. And he didn't know whether it was 'the best of times' or not with her.

"Mr. Macy?" Bug stood in the doorway, looking anxious. "There are some guys out fron who want to talk to you. They're from the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

Garret groaned. "FEDs?" he said, getting up. "Tell them to come in." Bug nodded and left his office.

Moments later, two tall men in dark suits, one with brown hair and one with blonde, walked into Garret office, the blonde closing the door behind them.

"What can I do for you?" asked Garret, eyeing to FEDs. The blonde one looked at the brown haired one, who gave a curt nod.

"We are doing an investigation and could use your assistance," said the blonde one. Garret sighed.

"Fine. What do you need?"

"Autopsy reports from all your drowning victims in the last five years," said the brown-haired one.

"Five years?" Garret choked. "It'll take ages to dig up all those records!"

The men looked at each other. "We have reason to believe that some of the unsolved accidental drowning cases weren't accidental," explained the brown-haired one. "We might have a serial killer on our hands. One who drowns his victims in the Charles River, then leaved their bodies on the bank for us to find. Most of them were ruled suicide or accidental, but we believe that they were murder."

"So you want me to find all the drowning victims from the Charles, not everywhere?" The men looked at each other, then nodded. "Well, that'll lower my seach a little."

"And we would prefer if you kept this quiet from your employees," the blonde one put in quickly, looking anxious. Garret raised his eyebrows.

"Why?"

"This might involve the family of one of them," said the brown-haired FED, "And we don't want a conflict of interest." Garret sighed.

"And which one of my employees may this involve, specifically?" he asked, almost afriad to hear the answer. The men looked at each other, then back at Garret.

"Jordan Cavanaugh," they said in unison.

"It involves Jordan?" Renee asked with a shocked expression the next morning as he filled her in on what the FEDs had said, "How?" Garret shook his head.

"They said it might involve her family somehow. Though I don't know why Max would do anything like..." He stopped, realization dawning on his face. "Unless it doesn't have anything to do with Max!"

He got up and started pacing. "What if it has to do with...? No, no he's dead." Renee bit her lip.

"Are you talking about who I think your talking about?" she asked worridly. He nodded, still pacing his office rapidly.

"It all makes sense! Drowning victims in the Charles River, all thought to be suidide or accidental? That's how he died! Or, rather, how we _thought _he died."

"But he jumped! You, Jordan and Hoyt submitted a formal review! He's _dead_!" she said, almost angrily. Garret shook his head again.

"It's possible he survived. We never found a body, remember?"

Renee bit her lip again. "I suppose it's... possible," she had to force the word. "But highly unlikely. You... you reall think it's him?" Garret stopped his pacing and looked at her.

"It's the only thing that makes sense!"

The two silently looked at each other for what seemed like forever but was really only a few moments. Renee broke the silence. "Who's going to tell Jordan?"

Jordan skipped into the morgue early, for once, happy that she would get to sit in on the interviews. She was a little put off by the rules; she wasn't one to keep quiet. But she would try, only because she wanted to see the interviewees and make sure they were all up to standard.

She had her headphones on and her iPod on as loud as it would go. She was singing along to Katy Perry's "_Thinking of You_".

"_You're like an Indian Summer... in the middle of Winter; like a hard candy... with a surprise center!_" she sang as she walked to Garret's office, earning her a few weird looks as from the people waiting to identify a deceased loved one or make inquiries.

She flung open the door to his office, without knocking. He and Renee were both their, supporting matching unhappy expressions. Jordan pulled her headphones out of her ears and put them in her left back pocket.

"Why the long faces?" she asked, making sure her iPod was off before stuffing it into the opposite back pocket, "Our first interview starts in, like, two minutes!"

Renee looked at Garret, then back at Jordan, then sighed. "Okay, I can take a hint. I'm gone," she said simply, then left.

Jordan reached into the bag she had slung over her shoulder and pulled out a notebook. "Is she here yet?" she asked excitely, taking a seat on Garret's couch and putting the notebook in her lap.

Garret shook his head. "Not yet. She had better not be late. We have four interviews scheduled for this morning, and we don't have time for anyone not to be here." Jordan nodded.

Emmy suddenly apeared in the doorway. "Doctor Macy, Alexis Evans is here now. I gave her the sheet to fill out like you asked; I'll send her in in a moment, if that's alright with you." She waited for Garret to give a curt nod before scurrying off again.

Garret went to his desk and settled himself behind it, getting comfortable. Jordan did the same, stretching out on his couch and writing Alexis Evan's name on the first page of her notebook. She was taking initiative and keeping notes.

It was maybe a minute later when a petit woman with curly black hair, olive skin and startling blue eyes apeared in the doorway, peering shlyly into the room.

"Miss Evans?" asked Garret and she nodded quickly. She seemed very nervous, and Jordan took a note about this.

"Come in, sit down. Emmy had you fill out the application?" Again she nodded, and handed him the clipboard she was holding. It had an 'application' clipped to it; if that's really what you want to call it. It was more like a questionnaire, in Jordan's opinion. Basic facts about the person, marital status, living arangements, past jobs, expirience, et cetera.

Alexis sat down in the chair across from Garret's desk, crossing her legs and folding her hands in her lap. Garret quickly looked over the application, then looked up at her, putting it down.

"It says here you've worked in both in a mortuary and a hospital as a nurse," he said, sounding impressed. "Did you have good expiriences there?"

"Oh, yes sir! When I worked in the mortuary I mostly just dressed the dead bodies. It was a summer job when I was twenty-two, before I started medical school. I figured out I wasn't creeped out about dead bodies at all; that's why I think it would be good if I worked here," said Alexis brightly. Garret nodded.

"Have you ever performed an autopsy?"

"No, but I've sat in on one and I'm a real fast learner."

Jordan made a note that she was both perkies and slightly arrogant. She didn't like this Alexis girl. She was a little too happy-go-lucky for Jordan's taste.

"Okay. What are your other skills?" asked Garret. Alexis gaped at him.

"You want me to list _all_ of them?" she asked, sounding dumbfounded. She seemed to recover, then shrugged. "Okey-dokey then! I paint, horseback ride, fence, write fiction, majored in chemestry, took a photography class, and I do woodworking... I did some event planning with my cousin once... I'm good with animals and children, and everybody likes me. I give good advice and I'm good and never being late. I lived on a farm when I was little so farm duties like milking, sheering sheep, chicken chasing and such. I'm also super at computer stuff—" Garret held up a hand to silence her, but she just kept on going. "Filming; I'm great with a video camera. And finding things are my forté. Loose something, and I'll find it! Also—"

"Ahem," Garret said, interupting her. "I think we have all we need. We'll call you."

Alexis gave him a funny look, but got up and left anyway, without saying a word. Garret groaned and glanced at Jordan.

"Was it just me, or was she the most arrogant, self-centered person you have ever had the displeasure of meeting?"

Jordan held up her notebook to show him what she had written.

**Alexis Evans**

**Shy, nervous, perky, ****slightly**** self-centered, self-confident, ****slightly arrogant****, ****arrogant****, ****very arrogant****, EXTREMELY arrogant.**

Garret nodded. "That's what I thought," he said. He took out his red pen and crossed her name off the long list of interviewees. Emmy apeared in the doorway.

"Carla Peterson is here early. Do you want me to send her in?" she asked. Garret nodded.

"That'd be great, thanks, Emmy," he replied, pulling Alexis's application off the clipboard and handing the empty clipboard back to Emmy. She turned and left.

Garret stared at the application, then quickly balled it up in his fist and tossed it in the trashcan.

"Dr. Macy?" Both Doctors in the room looked up to see a woman standing in the doorway. Garret's mouth fell open slightly, and Jordan raised an eyebrow.

The woman, Carla Peterson, had shoulder-length bleach blonde hair and a very large chest. She wasn't trying to hide that fact, either. She was wearing an extremely low-cut skin-tight top, and very short jean skirt that showed off her long legs. She was also wearing large pink celebrity-style sunglasses.

"Here's my application," she said, a noticable Texas 'twang' to her voice. She handed Garret her clipboard and he managed to close his mouth.

Jordan took a note.

"Well, then," said Garret, clearing his throat. "Please take a seat."

Carla sat down in the chair and settled in, crossing her legs like Alexis had. She took off her sunglasses and perch them on top of her head.

Garret stared blackly at her for a moment, then remembered he was supposed to be interviewing her.

"It, um..." mumbled Garret, looking at her application, "Okay. It says here that you went to Medical School and worked at Memorial Training Hospital. Why do you want to work in a morgue, then?"

Carla shrugged. "I didn't like the whole hospital scene when I started at Memorial Training Hospital. I was always afraid I was going to kill someone, but I really like the practice. I figured if I was operating on someone already dead, there was no way I could really screw up and ruin someone's life." Garret nodded and Jordan rolled her eyes, taking a note.

"And you worked in the hosptial for how long?"

"Six months at Memorial. I figured out it wasn't for me."

"I see. And what are your other skills?"

"I am very good at puzzels. And not the children's toy. I mean I like to figure things out; Nancy Drew was my hero. It's another reason I want to work here; solving each body's puzzel could be interesting," said Carla confidently, leaning back in her seat. Garret nodded.

"Anything else? Computer skills...?"

"Ugh! No, I hate computers. They never do what I want them to. It takes me forever just to check my E-Mail." Jordan took a note.

"That's alright. Any major weaknesses?"

"I'm clumsy."

"Okay. Well, thank you for your time. We'll call you," said Garret. Carla got up and let, putting her sunglasses back on as she did so.

Garret looked at Jordan, his eyes twinkling.

"No!" said Jordan automatically. "No, no, no, no. You heard her; no computer skills whatsoever. You need computer skills to work here. Not to mention the fact that you could barely ask her questions because you were too busy staring at her breasts. _And_ she was showing them off; probably thought it would help her get the job since you're a guy."

Garret stared at her a long moment, then took Carla's application and crumpled it into a ball as well. He tossed it in the direction of the trashcan, but it hit the side and bounced off, landing by his couch. Jordan picked it up and got up to throw it out properly.

Bug rushed in the door, a worried expression on his face. "Jordan, there's a double on Hurley Street and Woody is requesting you. Do you want to take it?"

Jordan dropped the paper into the trashcan then looked at Garret. "Mind if I drop out early?"

"No, I can handle two interviews by myself," said Garret defensively. He glanced at the sheet on names on his desk. "The next two are men anyway."

Jordan nodded then followed Bug out of the room.

Garret sighed and shook his head after she left. He was drowning in interviewees, but that was the least of his problems. What was he going to do about the FBI's investigation? ...And how was he going to keep Jordan from finding out?


	19. Chapter 19

_Thanks to everyone who is reviewing, especially LegaspiWeaver and Amelia Bianca Black. There's more Wojo (Woody/Jordan) in this chapter, and there will be from now on, now that I've got in the grove of writing them. _

_PS Here is a picture of the ring: traversjewellery(dot)com/Pictures/Prepared/Diamond-engagement-ring-hal.jpg_

**Chapter Nineteen: Woody and Abby's Decisions**

Woody had made a decision the night before. A big decision. He was going to ask Jordan to marry him.

It was probably redundant; she wouldn't say yes. Or would she? Jordan had been changing a lot, for the better. She was more mature, and was really giving them a shot. Maybe she wouldn't be so ani-marriage.

He wanted the normal married life; a golden retriever, a white picket fence and two-point-five children. He knew Jordan wouldn't go for that. If she did say yes, if she did marry him, it was likely things would change much. They might buy a bigger apartment, and they would move in together, but they practically lived with each other anyway, so it wouldn't be a major change.

He was at a crime scene, a double murder. He had called the morgue and requested Jordan, like he usually did, and Bug answered. He said he would ask her, and if she couldn't go (because she was helping Garret with interviews for the new employee) he would come himself.

So it was a relief when Jordan's El Camaro pulled up into the driveway of the suburban house on Hurley Street, and Jordan got out of her car and ducked under the yellow crime scene tape.

He made his way over to her, a goofy smile on his face; the kind of smile you get when you make a decision like the one he had made.

"Hey Jo," he said, walking up to her. Jordan noticed the huge smile on his face, but didn't comment.

"Hey. So, what've we got?" she asked. His smile faded. It was time to work.

"Two men in the basement," he explained, putting a hand in the small of her back and guiding her to the side of the house. "Neighbours called 911 when they saw this."

He motioned to the tiny window near the bottom of the concrete foundation, which was covered with blood on the inside.

Jordan bent down to get a better look. "Arterial spray," she concluded, lifting her kit and standing up again.

They entered the house through the front door, which looked like it had been kicked in by the police, and headed down to the basement. Woody winced when he saw what was down there; it was pretty grusome.

Two male bodies, both bound and gagged, tied to chairs in their underwear in the otherwise empty basement. It was unfinished, the walls concrete, as well as the floor, which was covered by a large amount of blood.

The first male victim, John Doe #1, had blonde, spikey hair and a gash in his throat. It was this gash that caused the arterial spray on the window, and the pool of blood Jordan and Woody had to avoid stepping in. He had long, thin bruises down his chest and abdomen,

The second victim, John Doe #2, had longish brown hair, and matching bruising in long lines across his chest.

"Cause of death?" asked Woody, motioning toward John Doe #2. Jordan went over to him and gave hima good once-over, then shrugged.

"Don't know. Small head trauma, non-fatal; minor lassarations, non-fatal; chest and abdomen bruising, non-fatal. Starvation, maybe?" she said, "I'll know most after post."

"Okay. Any idea of the TOD?" Jordan opened her kit and pulled out the thermometer, then plunged it into the man's liver area.

"By liver temp. I'd say about... two thirty this morning?" Woody nodded and wrote it down.

"What about the other guy?" he said, motioning to John Doe #1. Jordan rolled her eyes.

"I thought COD was obvious with him. You know, because of the arterial spray?" she said, gesturing toward the blood-covered wall and window. Woody sighed.

"I meant TOD," he said exasperatedly.

"Right," said Jordan, removing her thermometer from the first victim and using it to check the other guy's liver temperature.

Woody shook his head, deciding to think about something happy to distract himself from the gruesome crime scene. Jordan. He was going to ask her to marry him. He had to buy a ring... but first he had to find Max.

_Max_, he though, inwardly groaning,_ how could I have forgotten?_ It was Hoyt family tradition to ask the permission of the father before perposing. He had to find Max in order to propose to Jordan, as was tradition. And for that he needed... Nigel.

"Yoo-hoo," said Jordan, waving a hand in front of his face. He snapped out of his thoughts to look at her. "You there? Good. I put TOD between three and four AM."

Woody nodded and took a note.

"I'll know more after post." Woody nodded, then offered her a hand to help her up.

She did, and together they photographed and labeled all the blood samples. It was going to be a long day.

XXX

"Dad?" Abby Macy poked her head into her father's office. He looked up from the file he was reading.

"Abby?"

"I told Emmy to tell you to call me earlier... you must not have gotten the message.." She wandered in to his office and sat down on the chair across from him. "I've decided to go back to school."

"You're going to finish college?" asked Garret, delighted. Abby nodded happily.

"It just... it seems like the right thing to do," she said, smiling. "I've decided what I want to be, too."

"Oh, yeah?" asked Garret, leaning forward on elbows. "And what's that?"

"I want to be a cop!"

XXX

"Hey, Nigel!" hissed Woody from the door of Trace. "Have you seen Jordan?" Nigel looked up from the computer and shook his head.

"She's on her lunch break, sorry."

"No, no, that's good. I want to talk to _you_." Nigel raised an eyebrow.

"You want to talk to me?" he asked, surprised. "Usually you're off Jordan-chasing. Plus, I thought you thought I was gay and didn't want anything to do with me."

"Okay, first off," said Woody, walking into trace, "I have nothing against gays. I made an assumption about you; I guess I was wrong, but we're still friends, right?"

Nigel nodded. "Sure we are. Now, what was it you wanted." Woody blinked. He had forgotten.

"Oh, right. I need you to help me find someone." Nigel grinned.

"Who?"

"Max Cavanaugh."

XXX

"What?!" said Garret, standing up. "No, no, no. You can't be a cop! It's too dangerous!" Abby made a face.

"_Dad_," she said, also standing. "I thought you'd be happy for me! I want to make the world a better place, free of wrong-doers who—"

"Shut it, Abigail. You are not going to be a police officer, and that's final. I'm glad you want to continue your schooling, but it's just too dangerous." He walked around the desk and wrapped his arms around his daughter. "And I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

Abby sighed into his chest. "But it's what I really want to do."

"And when you were seven you really wanted to be a ballerina. Then a pianist. Then an artist. You'll figure out this isn't want you really want to do. Sometimes it just takes longer."

Garret released Abby and held her at arm's length by her shoulders. "I didn't know what I wanted to be when I was your age, and I don't expect you to know right now," he said, letting go of her shoulders and running one of his hand through her blonde hair. "I thought I knew everything, but what I didn't know is that sometimes you just have to let fate take it's course. When you find what you really want to do, you'll just... know."

"What if I really want to be a cop?" she asked, eyes big. He smiled at her.

"We'll see. After you finish school, if that's what you _really_ want to do, and you're _really_ careful, and you _really_ want it—"

"Dad."

"Then you can try it. But you might find something else you love before then." Abby grinned at him.

"I love you, Daddy," she said. He kissed her temple.

"I love you, too."

XXX

Nigel groaned. "You want me to find the one man I've been unable to? Woodrow, are you out of your mind?!"

Woody shook his head. "I _need _to find him."

"_Everyone _needs to find Max Cavanaugh. Garret, Jordan, the Boston police! What makes you think I can find him for you if I can't find him for them?"

Woody looked Nigel in the eye and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small, velvet box. "Because of this," he said, and opened the box.

The ring was gold with a large central diamond, flanked by two smaller ones. It was delicate but not two delicate, and absolutely beautiful. Nigel whistled.

"You're proposing?" he asked giddily. Woody nodded and closed the box, putting his index finger to his lips.

"You can't say a word. Not to Bug, Lily, Kate and especially Jordan." Nigel nodded.

"I swear," he said, "Cross my heart and hope to die I won't tell a soul." Woody smiled.

"Thank you. But now you see why I've got to find Max?"

"To give Jordan off at your guy's wedding?" he suggested, twiddling his thumbs. Woody shook his head.

"I can't propose until I've asked his permission. Hoyt family tradition." Nigel grimace.

"Bad luck," he said. He turned back to his computer. "I'll do another check, but I couldn't find him when he first dropped off the map; what makes you so sure I'll be able to find him now?"

"Because you're Nigel," said Woody confidently, "And because my and Jordan's happiness rests on your shoulders."

"So, no pressure?" he joked, then glanced at Woody.

If looks could kill, the one that Woody was shooting Nigel would have done it in an instant. Nigel took that as a 'yeah, there's pressure' look.

Woody turned to leave when Nigel remembered something. "Woodrow?"

He turned back to the British man half way to the door. "Hm?"

"If I do find him, not saying I will, I'll have to turn him into the BPD, right?" Woody thought about it.

"How about you tell me if you find him. I am the BPD," he said, pulling back his jacket a little to show off his badge. "So you won't get in trouble. It'll all be on me if anyone finds out."

Nigel grinned. "As long as the blame is off my shoulders, I'm in."

"More like 'if it's for Jordan, I'm in'. You're doing a good thing, you know." Nigel sighed.

"I know."


	20. Chapter 20

_This is the last time I can update before I leave for my cottage tomorrow (Nooooo!), but I will be back in a few days, so don't worry :). And Amelia Bianca Black, I'm getting to the new ME! I have a lot of the chapters planned out already, so as much as I would like to hurry things along, sometimes these things take time. Especially when Garret as so many interviews to go through!_

**Chapter Twenty: The One**

"Hey beautiful," said Woody coming up behind Jordan and putting his arms around her waist.

"Woody, no offence, but could you back off? I'm elbow deep in one of our dead guys." Woody released her reluctantly and walked around to the other side of the autopsy table.

"Cause of death yet?" he asked.

"No. The head wound would have barely given him a headache, his lungs are clear, and his heart is in tact," she said, picking up his heart to prove her point. "I see no reason why this guy is dead."

"Starvation?" suggested Woody, wrinkling his nose at the heart in his girlfriend's hand.

"Nope. Water and what looks like bread in his stomach. The other guy is the same. They may have been locked in a basement and tortured, but they were being fed."

"Yeah, bread and water."

"It's still food, and it'll keep you alive. This guy should not be dead," Jordan explained, "I'll see if tox shows anything; but until then, I'm no closer to figuring out this guy's cause of death then the moment I walked into the basement."

"Let's hope the tox screen gives us a better idea, then," replied Woody and Jordan began to stitch up John Doe #2. "Any clue on Ids yet?"

"No," she said, finishing the last stitch and cutting the thread. "I ran their descriptions through missing persons' and got nothing; and neither of their prints are in AFIS." She snapped off her gloves and pulled the blue sheet over him. "Have you seen Nigel? I asked him to get me the tox an hour ago, and the mass-spectrometer doesn't take _that_ long."

Woody quickly shook his head. "I'll go see if he's in Trace," he said, then rushed out of Autopsy 1 and to Trace.

"Nigel, Jordan is asking for the results on one of our John Doe's tox screens," he said breathlessly when he got there. Nigel looked up from the computer and stared at him for a moment, then remembered.

"Oh! Right. They've been done for a while, but I didn't bring them to her because I was too busy looking for—" He stopped as Jordan walked through the door.

"Looking for what?" she asked, looking annoyed.

"Nothing. I've got your results," he said, minimising whatever he had on the computer screen and picking up a sheet of paper from the desk. "Woah." He scanned them, then raised an eyebrow.

"'Woah' what?" asked Jordan, walked over behind him and reading over his shoulder.

"Look at this guy's hyperglycaemia levels," said Nigel, pointing to something on the page. "They're off the charts!"

Woody coughed. "In English, please?"

"His blood sugar is three times the normal level," explained Jordan, looking up from the sheet to look at him, "But that doesn't make sense, since he was only eating bread and water for who knows how long."

"But look at his insulin levels, Love," said Nigel, again pointing at the sheet. Jordan nodded.

"That makes sense... his killer must not have known."

"Must not have known _what_?" asked Woody unhappily, "Will someone _please _explain to me what this all means? In English?"

Jordan and Nigel looked at each other. "He was diabetic."

XXX

"Emmy, are these the only drowning victims from the last five years?" asked Garret, holding up the nine thick folders Emmy had left on his desk. She looked up and nodded quickly.

"All the ones from the Charles, just like you asked," she said, turning back to her paperwork. "You ruled most of them suicide, though."

"I know. Thanks, Emmy." He turned and went back to his office.

He began to flip through the files, reading them over. Six of the cases he had dealt with himself; one had been Devan's and the other two had been Bug's. He carefully picked up the one that Devan had worked on and opened it, running his thumb across her neat handwriting.

She had ruled it suicide. He hated to revoke Deven's work; or Elaine's, for that matter. It was still painful for him to see what she had written, and have to discount that. To have to go over every fact as if she had done something wrong; it was almost like tarnishing her memory to him. Which he would never do.

Devan had simple disapeared; incinarated in a plane crash that she shouldn't have been in. No one knew why she had gotten on that plane, she hadn't told anyone. Jordan had felt especially guilty; the last thing she had said to Devan was "What makes you think we're friends?" She hadn't meant it, but Garret knew how much it must have hurt Devan, and how much it hurt Jordan after the crash.

Garret read over Devan's finding, feeling his heart ache with every word he read. It wasn't fair that she went like that. It wasn't fair at all.

There was a knock on his door, and he looked up to see Renee standing in the doorway. She noticed the look on his face and automatically felt concerned.

"Garret, are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." Garret shrugged, the held up the file to show her.

Renee walked up to his desk and took a better look on the file, spotting Devan's name printed as the ME in charge.

"Devan worked this case. The FEDs had me dig up all the drowning victims, and one of them was Devan's. I really don't want to do this. Re-opening your dead collegue's work is not only unethical it's... it's..." He put down the folder and held up his hands in defeat. "It just feels... _wrong_."

Renee nodded and sat down across from him. "I'm sorry, Garret."

Garret nodded and closed the file, pushing it aside for the moment. "So, why did you stop by?"

"To see how you were doing with the FEDs, and to tell you I might not be around for the next few days."

"Why not? Big case?" Renee shook her head.

"No, Michael has the flu or something, and the babysitter can't handle a sick kid, so I have to stay home and take care of him. I thought you'd want to know 

that I wouldn't be stopping by for a little while," she said, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Oh," said Garret. He didn't know much about Renee's little boy; she didn't talk about him often and he'd never met him. "Tell him I hope he feels better."

It was a generic thing to say in such a situation, but Garret didn't know how else to respond. He'd never met this kid, and he was his ex-girlfriend's son with her ex-husband. Complicated, to say the least.

"I will." She turned and left his office.

Garret stared at the file with Devan's name on it some more, then flipped it over. He grabbed his phone roughly and called the FEDs with the number on the business card the blonde one had given him, and told them that he had the files.

He had three interviews to day, and he was already pissed off. "Dr. Macy, your three o'clock interviewee is here," Emmy said from the doorway, causing him to loose his train of thought.

"Hm?"

"Ian Feilds?"

"Oh, right. Send him in."

Garret didn't feel like interviewing, so when Ian walked in the door wearing combat boots, a black leather jacket at guy-liner, he didn't even give him a chance. Two questions and he was out the door again, mostly because his second answer had been "Dead bodies are cool."

"Your three-thirty is here," said Emmy, poking her head in the door again. "Want me to send her in?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," said Garret, half-smiling. It was something Emmy saw him do often; smiling with his mouth but not his eyes, so that someone who didn't know him well would assume he was happy, where in fact something was bothering him. She shook her head and ducked out of his office.

"Dr. Macy will see you now," she told the young woman who was seated in the waiting area. She nodded and stood, taking her application with her.

"Dr. Macy?" asked the young woman, standing in the doorway with a bag slung over her shoulder and her application in hand. He looked up and half-smiled at her. "I'm Adriana Rodriguez." She extended her hand.

He took his, gave it a light shake before dropping it, along with his smile. "Why are you here, Miss Rodriguez?"

"Please, call me Adriana. I heard from my brother that you had an opening and I would very much like to work here."

"Well, why do you want to work here?" countered Garret, taking her application from her and quickly scanning it.

"I was an ME in Liverpool, but I recently moved here and am looking to go into a similar line of work. I have a letter of recommendation, if you want it," she replied, opening her bag and pulling out another sheet of paper, offering it to him. "I worked there for two years."

"You went to medical school, but opted to be an ME rather than a doctor. Why?"

"I never really want to be a doctor," she explained, tucking her blonde hair behind her ears. "I actually wanted to be an entomologist, then a friend of mine with similar interests became an ME, and I decided I'd try it out. I've found that my background with insects sometimes help me in this line of work, and I happen to also really enjoy it. I guess it was just what I was born to do."

"Okay," said Garret, actually happy how this interview was going. He read over the letter of recommendation she had given it. It was not only legitimate, but goes on to say that she was an excelent ME. "You say you heard about this opening from your brother. How did he hear about it?"

"He's an inspector," she said, folding her hands in her lap, "He was the one who first recommended that this facility take on an extra employee. He told me that the DA had excepted this request, so I applied right away, and he put me on the list of recommendations."

It clicked. Carlos Rodriguez, Adriana Rodriguez. Though she looked nothing like him, they were brother and sister.

"I see. What are your strengths?"

"I have computer skills, and got a degree at Oxford in Entomology. I got a sub-degree in medical science so I could attend med school. I'll be honest, I don't have very good people skills, but I can relate to people well, and my old boss told me I was good at breaking the news to members of the deceased's family."

Garret nodded. "So notifications don't intimate you?"

"No, of course not. For the first three months working at the morgue in Liverpool all I did was notifications. You get used to it."

_Liverpool?_ thought Garret, _She doesn't even have an accent._

"And what are your biggest weaknesses?"

"I tend to be a bit too conscientious and want to get everything right; I'm a bit of a perfectionist which tends to get on people's nerves if I go over my work ten times; I can get pretty anal about getting places on time; and I'm really curious and always want to know more about things, so I ask a lot of questions."

"Okay. Is there anything else that you would like to tell me before my next interviewee arrives?"

Adriana seemed to think about it, then shook her head. "No, thank you. I think you pretty much covered everything." She stood and extended her hand again. "It was very nice meeting you, sir. I hope to see you again."

Garret's four o'clock didn't even show up. Jordan did, though, asking how the interviews he had handled without her went.

"Good," he said with a smile that seemed almost sincere, "I think I found a real keeper."

"Oh, really?" asked Jordan, interested. "And how much cleavage was she showing off?"

"None, she was wearing a turtleneck. Jordan, I seriously think she could fit in around here. Here's her application." He took out Adriana Rodriguez's application and handed it to Jordan.

She scanned it, then nodded. "Yeah, I don't like her." Garret groaned.

"You haven't even met her! She was very polite, has all the right skills..."

"She claims she has 'little people skills'. And this is good, how?"

"_You_ have little people skills, Jordan," said Garret, "And I hired _you_. And she was very nice. Plus she's good at notifications, and she has a letter of recommendation from her old boss. She's worked as an ME before, and has a sub-specialty in entomology, which Bug'll like. We won't have to listen to him talk about bugs anymore because he'll have someone to talk about them with! She's perfect!"

"She's also our reviewer's sister," said Jordan, reading the little jot notes Garret had made in the margin of her application. "Don't you think it's a little suspicious that he was the one who asked for the position to be made, and then his sister fits the job description? I think he's obviously trying to make us hire her."

"She just moved here from Liverpool," said Garret, "So what if he had his sister's well-being in mind when he recommended we get a new employee? She fits the bill."

"I still don't like her," complained Jordan, putting the application aside.

"Well that's too darn bad, isn't it? Because whether you approve or not, unless I find someone better suited, she's my number one choice."


	21. Chapter 21

_Thank you to everyone who is reviewing! I'm back and yes, Amelia, I had a great time. :) The next few chapters are going to be a little different, but try to stay with me, because I will get back to the real plot eventually..._

_PS I have to next few chapters hand-written, so it might take me longer to type them out... sorry for the inconvenience!_

**Chapter Twenty-One: Peanut Butter and Planning**

"Come on, just hand it over!"

"No way!"

"Give it to me!"

"Nooooo."

"Please?"

"Nope."

Woody sighed and stopped his relentless chase after Jordan. "Not even if I ask really, really nicely?"

"Sorry," replied Jordan, still holding the jar of peanut butter out of his reach. "I got it first, and there's only enough for one sandwich." Woody sighed again, leaning against Jordan's kitchen counter.

"So you're going to make me go all the way to the store—"

"Yep."

"—to buy another jar of peanut butter—"

"Uh-huh."

"—because you don't want to share?"

"That's right."

Woody gave Jordan his best puppy-dog pout. She shook her head. "I really need peanut butter," she explained, "I've been craving it since last night, but I was too tired to go get myself some until this morning. And the pout isn't going to make me give you any."

Woody stopped pouting and grabbed his coat. "Fine," he growled, "I'll be back in ten minutes."

Woody wasn't as upset as he had pretended to be. He didn't even really want a peanut butter sandwich all that much. He just needed to apose Jordan sometimes; to make sure that one, he wasn't dreaming; and two, Jordan was still Jordan. Which she was.

Not only that, but he needed an excuse to get out of the house and call Nigel. He needed to ask him if he'd found Max yet.

He pulled out his cellphone as he wandered into the corner store a few blocks away from Jordan's apartment. "Hey, Nige," he said when the British man picked up the phone.

"_Good morning, Woodrow. A little early for you to be calling, isn't it?_"

"Maybe, but it's not like I can call you when Jordan's around, and this is my first oportunity where she hasn't been. So, speaking of which, any luck?" Woody heard Nigel sigh as he rounded to corner into the staples isle.

"_Unfortunately, no. Max has been keeping under the radar, and doing it very well,_" replied Nigel unhappily. "_I'm about to leave for the morgue now, and I'll keep looking. Try to see if I can find his cellphone through GPS, but for that I need his number, which I don't have. I'm trying to figure out his alias, then track his phone records._"

"Thanks, Nigel." Woody grabbed a jar of peanut butter and began to head for the register.

"_You said Jordan's not around. Where are you?_"

"At the store, buying peanut butter." Nigel chuckled.

"_See you later, Woodrow._"

"Later."

Woody flipped his phone shut and payed for the peanut butter, and turned to leave when he saw him. He was wearing a dark sweater and black pants, dark sunglasses and a long, black trench coat. It was cold out; this wasn't so unusual. And had Woody not seen something long and black held tight to the man's side when he coat swished around a corner, he would have wrote it off as bad a taste in clothing.

"Ma'am," he whispered to the cashier, the only employee out front, "I'm a cop. I think the man who just entered the store might be concealing a weapon. You might want to take cover if anything happens." He put down his peanut butter on the conveyor belt next to the register.

The frightened clerks eyes widened, but she nodded quickly as Woody took out his gun and held it in both hands, pointing at the floor.

Stealthily, he followed the suspect's path down the dairy and frozen products isle, seeing him at the end of it, aparently checking prices of vanilla ice cream. He looked harmless, but it was in all likelihood that he wasn't.

As Woody moved slowly down the isle, th man turned slightly and he saw what looked like a semiautomatic rifle hidden under the trench coat. It was all the prodding Woody needed to lift his gun and yell, "Let me see your hands!"

The startled young man dropped the ice cream in his hands and raised them in the air slowly. Woody aproached him cautiously, and when he was close enough, pulled back the coat.

What Woody had thought to be a rifle was really a paintball gun with the "_P.B. World_" ensignia on the side. Woody took it cautiously, giving it a once-over before holstering his gun and holding it up.

"It's a painball gun," said the young man, "S-sorry." Woody sighed and offered it back to him.

"If you're going to carry one of these around with you, never try to conceal it," he said as the young man took the paintball gun, "If you do, police like me might notice."

He nodded quickly and bent to retrieve the fallen ice cream. "Sorry, officer. I was just on my way to a match— luminescant paint balls. Hence the black clothing. I guess it might look a bit suspicious."

"Just be more careful next time," said Woody, turning around and heading back toward the cashier. "False alarm," he told the stricken woman, who nodded and handed him his peanut butter.

As he left, he muttered, "All this, for _peanut butter_."

Jordan and Woody arrived at the morgue about an hour later, Jordan still laughing at Woody's insident at the store.

"It's not that big a deal, Jordan—"

"No, you're just paranoid."

"Woodrow is paranoid? About what?" Nigel popped his head around the door to Trace, looking at Jordan suspiciously. She grinned.

"He pulled his gun at some kid at the corner store because he was wearing a trench coat." Nigel snickered.

"He was concealing a paintball gun! It could have been a real one."

"Sure, Woody, just like Maddie's toy keys are really your house keys she's planning to use to break in."

Nigel shook his head at the bickering couple. He and Kate sure didn't behave like _that_. Then again, they weren't even an 'official couple' yet. They were an 'almost-maybe-something'.

Bug walked into Trace with a grin. Nigel raised an eyebrow, and Woody did the same when he walked in moments later.

"Okay, spill. Why are you so happy?" asked Woody in all seriousness. Bug faked a shocked expression.

"Because of what tomorrow is! I want to make it special, and I have the perfect plan."

Woody and Nigel looked at each other. "What's tomorrow?" they said in unison.

"Valentine's Day!" replied Bug excitedly, practically jumping up and down. "Wait, you guys forgot?"

The two men looked at each other, both wearing matching expressions filled with panic. "Uh-oh," said Woody.

"She's going to kill me," moaned Nigel, running his hand through is hair.

"Who is?" prompted Woody, but Nigel shook his head.

"Not allowed to tell... but she is seriously going to take a scalpel and..." He began to explain in great detail what she was going to do if he forgot Valentine's Day, causing Bug to cross his legs and Woody flinch.

"Are we sure we don't know her?" asked Bug after the explanation, "Because your new girlfriend is starting to sound a lot like Ka—"

It was at this moment that Kate walked into Trace, humming quietly to herself. She stopped when she saw the three men in the room staring at her.

"_What?_"

"Nothing. Nigel was just describing to us what gruesome things his new girlfriend would do to him if he forgot Valentine's Day," said Woody, "And Bug commented that she sounds a lot like you."

Kate looked at her watch, which was one of those fancy ones that have the date on it. "Tomorrow's Valentine's Day?" she asked, "Huh. I'd completely forgotten." Nigel sighed in relief, but neither of the other men noticed.

Woody was shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. "I've got to go," he said suddenly, "Nigel, call me if you get a lead on our... project." He left Trace, leaving the door swinging ever so slightly behind him.

Bug put a sample in the mass spectrometer and let Trace also, leaving Kate and Nigel alone. She leaned in close and whispered, "I'm sure your new girlfriend won't harm you if you forgot Valentine's Day. Especially since she did, too," in his ear. He smiled at her, and she quickly went to the microscope and began to examine a piece of evidence.

Bug had all his attention focused on numerous little white sheets of paper in front of him, so when Lily put a hand on his shoulder, he jumped.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," she said, removing her hand. "What are you working on?"

Bug began to pick up his papers in full tilt, piling them up, then pulling open his desk drawer and shoving them inside. "Um... it's a surprise," he said, turning to face his suspicious girlfriend. "I was just about to call the babysitter and make sure Maddie's okay."

"Erm, okay," said Lily, slightly confused by her boyfriend's actions, "Tell Megan and Chase I said hi." She gave him a peck, then left as he reached for his phone.

Megan and Chase were the couple who ran the daycare service Lily was using. They only took six kids per day unless it was an emergency, so Lily felt that Madeleine would be well taken care of while she and Bug were at work.

Bug dialed their number and waiting for it to ring. Megan answered, sounding flustered. "_Hello?_"

"Hi Megan, it's Mahesh. I was just calling to check in on Madeleine," said Bug, noticing the wails in the background that sounded like the little Lebowski.

"_Great! Maybe you can tell me how to get her settled down. I went to put her down for a nap and she started screaming and hasn't stopped._"

"The only thing that calms her down is if I sing to her," explained Bug, "I could probably do it over the phone..."

"_Do you just want me to hold the phone next to her, or something?_"

"That should work." The screaming that had been in the background suddenly grew louder, indicating that Megan had put the phone next to Maddie. Bug began to sing his mother's song, and the screaming slowly faded until it stopped all together.

There was a noise as the phone was moved, then Megan came back on, talking quietly. "_She fell asleep! Has anyone ever told you that you have an excelent singing voice?_"

"Um, no," said Bug, eyebrows coming together, "Listen, about tomorrow..."

"_I remember what you asked me last month, and I'll drop her off at her father's at three, just as you specified._" Bug sighed with relief.

"Great, thanks Megan."

"_No problem, Dr. Vijay._"

"I told you, it's Bug or Mahesh."

"_Sorry. Usually my clients prefer to be addressed by their titles. You and Miss Lebowski are some of the better ones._"

"Well, thank you," said Bug, taken aback, "I really hope it's not too much trouble..."

"_No trouble, Mahesh. Hope your plans for tomorrow work out._"

"Me too. Tell Chase Lily and I say hello,"

"_I will be sure to do that. Good-bye._"

"Bye." He hung up, a little relieved that his plans for tomorrow were working so far. He had a big surprise for Lily when she woke up the next morning. He had already cleared it with Garret to get the day off, and Lily automatically got holidays 

off, so they were set since Madeleine had a sitter until three, and Jeffrey would take her after that.

Everything had to be perfect; down to the tiniest detail. His first Valentine's Day with Lily had to be special, perfect, romantic, spectacular. And he knew just how he was going to pull it off.

Woody was fuming. How had he forgotten Valentine's Day? It seemed as though Bug had something planned already, but both he and Nigel had to come up with something last minute. Though he doubted that Nigel's new girlfriend— whoever she was— would do what Nigel specified, he knew that Jordan would probably be mad if he didn't do something special. She souldn't show it; she'd be quietly seething uner her skin where no one could see. She's say she'd forgive him; but underneath there'd be that anger again. And he hated it when Jordan was angry.

He had sort of rushed out of Trace once Valentine's Day had been mentioned, for the simple reason that he had no clue what to do and had less then twenty-four hours to do it. When Jordan got off work the next day he had better have something awesome planned; something romantic, thoughtful, and sincere. Something like...

Nothing. He had no clue. A fancy dinner? No, Jordan didn't really go for stuff like that. Jewlery? He was already giving her the ring, as soon as he found Max to ask his permission. But there was no way that was going to happen in time. Flowers? He had no idea what Jordan's favourites were. What was he going to do?!


	22. Chapter 22

_This is how this is going to happen; the next three chapters are all going to happen simutaiously, just focussing on different people._

_Chapter Twenty-Two: Valentine's Day, Part I (Bug & Lily)  
Chapter Twenty-Three: Valentine's Day, Part II (Jordan & Woody, Kate & Nigel)  
Chapter Twenty-Four: Valentine's Day, Part III (Garret & Renee, Jeffrey & Maddie)_

_PS This is fluff! Mostly. Sorry it's so long... I got a burst of inspiration._

_PPS: I just had surgery, so that's why this chapter was delayed. Sorry if I made anyone miffed, I just can't write under the influence of anesthesia. :)_

_PPPS: I have complete writer's block now (oh no!) so updates might be slower, as I am running out of ideas..._

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Valentine's Day, Part I (Bug & Lily)**

Lily opened her eyes groggily. It was Valentine's Day. She put out her hand and turned off her alarm, which was buzzing angrily at her as though to yell "Get up, you lazy tush!", just like it did every morning.

She rolled over to give Bug a kiss good morning, only to discover herself alone in bed. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, then noticed the note on his pillow. She picked it up and read it quickly, a smile forming on her lips.

**G'Morning, Beautiful!**

**Happy Valentine's Day! Don't worry about Maddie; she's with the sitter and will be spending some quality time with Jeffrey later.**

**Now, get up and dressed and follow the clues to get your surprise. And hurry up!**

**Love, your love Bug**

Lily smiled again and shook her head. 'Follow the clues'? Like a scavenger hunt? Bug had something planned, and she knew it. And he had one Hell of an imagination.

She got up and went to the bathroom, not hearing or seeing Bug or Maddie. He must have gone out and taken her to the sitter's already.

Lily undressed and stepped into the shower, and was about to turn on the water when she saw the second note. It was folded in half and put tent-like over her bar of soap. She chuckled and picked it up.

**If only paper had eyes! I bet I'd be getting a pretty nice view right about now. I just wanted to remind you that you have a busy day ahead of you, and that you should eat a proper breakfast. And that a good perfect breakfast starts with a big bowl of Cheerios.**

Lily continued to laugh as she stepped back out of the shower, put the note next to the sink and stepped in the shower of the second time that morning and took a quick shower. She towled her hair as she walked back to their bedroom, then got dressed in jeans and a red and white floral silk blouse. After putting her hair up in the usual pony tail, she went to the kitchen.

Lily opened the cupboard where the cereal was kept and grinned. Pearched on top of the box of Cheerios was a single red rose, and a third note.

**If you want another rose, why don't you go over to "Tony's Coffee" and get yourself our regular booth.**

She took the rose and twirled in around in her fingers. Bug was sweet, but running all over town searching for roses he'd hidden for her was not exactly how she thought she'd spend he Valentine's Day.

But she didn't want to hurt her very sweet boyfriend's feelings, so she put the rose in a vase and put on some comfortable shoes while eating some dry Cheerios.

Lily and Bug usually got their morning coffees at Tony's (Lily always ordered a low-fat caramel latte with sprinkles, Bug regular coffee with two milks and three sugars), which was right across the road from Bug's apartment. They always got the third booth from the back, and they always chatted up Mary Fitzgibbons who had thee same daily routine but sat in the booth next to theirs.

When Lily settled into their usual booth, she automatically saw the second rose, put on top of the fold-up dessert add. There was a note under it.

**I suggest you take a walk along the beach. I hear it can be quite romantic.**

Lily shook her head. A walk along the beach did sound romantic, but she had no idea weather Bug was planning on joining her or not. She hoped he would.

She ordered her coffee to go for once, only to have Tony ask if she was feeling alright.

"I'm fine, Tony," she said, excepting her coffee happily, "Bug has me running all over in a little Valentine's Day scavenger hunt type deal. I have to go to the beach next."

Tony chuckled and bid her good luck, to which she mumbled that she might need it. Tony obviously didn't hear her, because he didn't comment and went right on to serve the next customer his coffee.

XXX

When Lily got to the beach, she saw no sign of her very sweet, but getting a little tiresome, boyfriend. She did, however, find another note on the bench near the peer she liked to sit at. She picked up and plopped down on the bench stretching out her legs in front of her.

**X marks the spot. Or, rather, the trail.**

This note received a raised eyebrow and a small chuckle. If Lily hadn't been able to recognize Bug's awful handwriting from a mile away, she would have asked herself if this note was for someone else. No names, places, nothing. Just this "X marks the spot" stuff. How was she supposed to interpret that?

Sighing, Lily stood and stretched her arms above her head. She looked around her, thinking. It was then she saw the "trail of Xs".

Two small sticks had been put on the ground, crossing over each other to make an "X". A few feet away was another one of these, and another and another. Lily smiled and shook her head. Leaving a trail of "X"s? Her Bug was a strange little man, that was for sure.

Lily began to follow the trail, and it lead her along the beach, then up to the sidewalk and down Border Street. The "X"s had changed from sticks to sidewalk-chalk, a few of them were smudged from foot-traffic, but still very legible (for Bug's writing).

So Lily followed the "X"s, wondering why Bug had gone to such extent getting her out of the house. It would have been suffient for him to take her out to dinner, or a romantic picnic on the beach... why did he do all this planning?

Lily found herself standing nose-to-nose with a door. And not just any door; the door to Tony's Coffee.

She pushed open the door and walked in, noticing that little "X"s made of tape continued the trail along Tony's floor, leading back to their booth. She slipped into it, shaking her head. Until she noticed the box.

Long, thin and covered in navy velvet the box itself was pretty. It was sitting on the shiny wooden table, all by itself, except for another note tucked safely underneath it. Lily put her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her fists, looking at it. She knew it was for her, but she didn't want to open it.

"You gonna open it?" asked a gruff voice from behind her. Lily smiled.

"I dunno, Tony, it looks too pretty to disturb." Tony chuckled and leaned against the seat.

"Oh, go on, I've been guarding it since you left. It's got to be something special to have it's own bodyguard." Lily turned away from Tony and resumed her staring at it.

"Fine." She reached out and picked up the box. She opened the note first though; and grinned. "Happy Valentine's Day to my most precious flower, you make me the happiest man on Earth, and I'm trying to return the favour," she read aloud. Tony chuckled and left to greet some customers, leaving her alone with the box.

She slowly opened it, and her grin slipped off her face only to be replaced by a look of awe as she stared at what was inside it.

The necklace was beautiful, a silver and purple butterfly pendant on a silver chain. The wings were made of two purple stones, probably amethysts, and the antennae looped up to connect the pendant to the chain. It was absolutely gorgeous, and so totally her... so totally Bug!

She gently lifted it from it's box and ran a thumb over it's shiny surface. It was perfect. It was beautiful.

"Lily?" said a slightly confused sounding voice from behind her. Lily put the necklace back in the box and closed it, turning to face the person who had spoke.

"Nigel, what are you doing here?" she asked, and Nigel shrugged.

"Bug said you'd be here and to give you this," he said, handing Lily a rose and a note, "I've got to go. Date. See you later." He turned and left the shop, leaving a slightly dumbounded Lily holding a rose and yet another note written in Bug's messy handwriting.

**Do you like it? It made me think of you when I saw it in the window down at Joseph Gann's. I love you. You can come home now.**

Lily shook her head. Joseph Gann's was a jewlers not far from Jordan's apartment, one that Lily herself had visited more than once. It was a fine place; that sold fine, usually expensive jewlery.

She was still a little confused about Nigel's role as 'messanger boy' as she walked back to their apartment. She hadn't put the necklace on yet; she wanted Bug to put it on her, no matter how corny that may sound.

In the elevator Lily couldn't help but grin and tried to resist the urge to jump up and down. The necklace truely was the best gift anyone had ever given to her; including her engagement ring from Jeffrey, the wedding dress she inherited from her mother, and the diamond earings her brother had sent her as an engagement present.

When the elevator hit the fourth floor and the doors opened, Lily could smell something amazing. It caused her to stop just outside the elevator and take deep breaths in through her nose, trying to guess who was cooking what. Most likely it was Mrs. Walker down the hall; she was always cooking, giving their floor a homey, delicious smell.

The smell grew stronger as Lily walked down the hallway. When she passed Mrs. Walker's room was when she began to get suspicous.

She stopped outside of Bug's apartment, the delicious smell making her mouth water. But Bug didn't cook. Did he?

She opened the door and poked her head inside, taking a deep breath. Man, that smelled good! "Bug?"

There was a yelp, then an exclaimation of, "Ouch!"

"Bug, are you alright?" Lily quickly took off her shoes and went to the kitchen, where a slightly frazzled-looking Bug was hopping around, index finger in his mouth.

"'M ok," he said, and she grinned. Typical Bug.

"You sure? Here, let me see..." She went to him, trying to ignore the delicious smell and concentrait on her boyfriend's burnt finger.

He held it out reluctantly. There was a tiny shiny pink burn along it, but nothing to be too worried about. "What are you doing that you burned yourself?" she asked him, even though it was obvious.

"Cooking," he said, "Tofu Parmigiana, served with angel hair pasta, garlic bread and green salad." Lily raised her eyebrows skeptically.

"I didn't even know you cooked!" Bug was one of those men who often ate out, and when he did cook something, it was usually chicken soup, TV dinners or toast. Never before had she seen him try to cook something a) so delicious, and b) so complex sounding.

Bug blushed. "Yeah, well... my mother taught me a few recipes. She said that with my luck I would never marry, and that every unmarried man should learn 

to cook... Veal Parmingiana was one of her favourites, but I've adapted her recipes with tofu because you're a vegetarian..."

"Bug, that's so sweet," said Lily, and Bug smiled shyly at her. Then he frowned.

"You're not wearing your necklace," he pointed out, looking disappointed. Lily smiled.

"As corny as this sounds, I wanted you to put it on me." She blushed. Bug beamed.

"So you like it?" he asked excitedly, completely forgetting about his burnt finger.

"I love it," she replied, taking a step closer to him, "And I love you." She leaned in and kissed him gently, smiling as she did so. Bug always seemed so surprised and so happy when she said or did anything like that, and for Lily it always seemed slightly surreal. She had found someone who loved her, faults or not, and someone who she loved back. She thought she had found that with Jeffrey, but really it was closer to one-sided. He loved her, and she loved that he loved her, but she didn't love him. She loved Bug. She loved Bug with everyone ounce of her soul.

Beep! Bug leaned back a little and broke the kiss, whispered, "Sorry," then went to the stove and opened it. "Dinner's ready." Lily looked at her watch.

"It's four," she said, and then laughed at the almost sad look on his face. He thought he had screwed up. "Which is the perfect time to eat dinner." His smile returned. "Now, you do want to put his beautiful piece of jewelry on me before or after dinner?"

XXX

Over dinner they had some pleasant conversation, but basically just enjoyed each other's company and the wonderful meal Bug had cooked. He was very good at what he set his mind to.

"Bug, this is delicious," said Lily as she finished, wiping the corner of her mouth on her napkin. "Who knew you could cook!" Bug beamed. He was so happy he had made her happy.

"Usually I can't, but I really wanted today to be special; first Valentine's Day together and all that..." Lily grinned at him across the table.

"It's perfect." Bug grinned and stood, collecting their plates and balancing them expertly on his arm, like a waitor. Lily shook his head. Apparently Bug had many talents she didn't know about.

Bug went to the kitchen and put the dishes in the sink. "You know, I stopped by the store this morning to pick up ingredients, and I got some vanilla icecream..." Lily's eyes lit up and she licked her lips. Her favourite. "You want some?"

"You know me too well," she said, turning around in her chair to face the enterance to the kitchen.

Bug returned and offered her a bowl of icecream with caramel sauce, just as she liked it, and gave her a peck on the lips. "Not possible," he stated, the sat down to eat his own icecream.

Both of them were allergic to chocolate (another thing they had in common) , and it just so happened that vanilla icecream was both of their favourite. Bug liked him with strawberry sauce, Lily with caramel.

Lily loved vanilla icecream with a passion. Whenever her mother had brought home a new 'uncle', she always sweetened the deal by saying, "If you give _insert name here_a chance, I'll let you have as much vanilla icecream as you can eat." It was the only thing Lily looked forward to when her mother had a date.

Bug watched her eat her icecream. It sometimes amazed him just to watch her do the simplest of things; eating icecream was one of them. She savoured each bite on her tongue, letting it melt before swallowing. He silently ate his own icecream as his eyes followed her spoon from her bowl to her perfect dusky-rose coloured lips. She did this little thing with her tongue, flicking it across her spoon to rid it of the last minuscule trace of icecream, that drove him crazy. It was the most attractive thing Lily did, and he thought that everything she did was attractive.

She did the tongue thing again, and he quietly groaned. Lily looked up from her icecream, supporting a slightly confused and concerned look. "Are you ok?" she asked him, looking him over.

"Um, yeah," he said, the pitch of his voice seeming to go up a notch. Now was _not_ the time!

"You sure?" she asked again, leaning forward. "Because you sound different..."

"I'm fine," he squeaked.

"Bug, what's wrong..." She put her icecream aside (it was almost done anyway) and put on her 'concerned grief conceller' look.

"Nothing."

"Then why do you sound funny? Bug, you know you're an awful liar..."

"Am not!" he said defensively, then winced. Now she _knew _he was lying.

"Bug," she said sternly, "Tell."

"It's just..." he blushed. "Could you please stopdoingthatthingwithyourtongue?" He blushed some more. Lily raised her eyebrows.

"Sorry, didn't catch that," said Lily, almost grinning, but holding it off.

"Could you... stop doing that thing... with your tongue? It's... distracting." He was probably redder than a tomato, he was blushing so hard.

"Doing that thing with my...? _Oh_," said Lily, eyes wide with comprehension. She quickly ducked under the table, then sat back up again, eyebrows raised. Bug crossed his legs.

"Sorry..." he mumbled, lowering his gaze to the spoon he had put down. Lily smiled.

"I didn't know I had that effect on you..." she said putting her elbows on the table. "Say, how long did you say Maddie would be out of the house...?" Her voice was almost... seductive. Bug blushed even more, if that was possible.

"I..."

"'Cause you know, we've been having a very nice day today, and..."

"Stop." Lily stopped talking and gave him a confused look.

"Lily, I don't know what you think I was expecting tonight, but I sure wasn't thinking—"

"I don't think you were expecting anything."

"Yes, you do. I didn't do all this just to get in your pants." Lily chuckled. Off course he didn't! He was Bug.

"I know you wouldn't—"

"But I thought we were taking things slow," he explained. Lily's eyebrows shot up again.

"Bug, we've been living together for almost three months!"

"I know, I'm just... we're not ready to become... that intimate," he explained. "I'm sorry, I just don't think—"

Lily chuckled. "I'm fine with taking things slow, Bug. I just thought you'd be more eager to become..." She tried to think of a word, but decided to use his. "'Intimate'." Bug shook his head quickly.

"You don't think I'm like that, do you?"

"Well, no, but you are male..."

"And that mean's I have to be a skirt-chasing jackass with nothing but sex in mind?"

Lily looked at him like he had three heads for a moment, then exclaimed, "No!"

"Then why are we even talking about this?!" Bug seemed angry, which Lily didn't understand at all. She'd never met a man who turned her down before. Bug was different. Almost like a different species. One that she had no experience dealing with.

"Sorry," she muttered, "I didn't think you'd... never mind. Are you finished your icecream?" Bug looked down at his empty bowl and nodded. She reached over and took his bowl and her own, heading to the kitchen. Bug got up and followed her (now that he could stand up again).

"Lily..." he said quietly in his 'I'm sorry' voice. Lily chuckled. He thought she was mad at him.

"Mm."

"You want to go out? We could go to the park or something..."

"Can we go for a walk along the beach?" she asked, putting their bowls in the sick and turning to face him. He grinned.

"Perfect."


	23. Chapter 23

_So. This chapter isn't totally plotless— it does have some plot value to the story hidden in with the fluff. It's longer than Part I, probably because it involves following two couples on their Valentine's Day outings._

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Valentine's Day, Part II (Jordan & Woody, Nigel & Kate)**

Kate felt like crap on Tuesday morning. Well, not totally. She felt nauseous and had horrible cramps. It was probably almost her time of the month.

Suddenly, she had the urge to vomit. And not like a little nauseated 'I feel like throwing up' urge, but a full-blown 'where the Hell is the nearest toilet' urge. Kate jumped from her bed and flung herself out of her room and across the hall to her bathroom, dropping to her knees and retching.

Kate hated throwing up. Not that anyone likes throwing up, but Kate hated it with a passion. When she was little she used to get carsick a lot, and ever since if she felt the urge to show the world her stomach contents she would do everything she could not to.

Once her stomach was empty, which didn't take long, Kate flushed and cleaned herself up. It was then she heard the commotion coming from her front lawn.

"Take that you filthy—!"

"I'm not—! Arrgh!" Kate ran to her window and pulled back the curtains, only to see Henry fighting off a man with dark hair wearing a leather jacket on her lawn. When she noticed the motorcycle helmet that lay a few feet away from the pair, Kate shook her head.

She went down stairs, grabbing a robe on her way past her bedroom and holding it closed with one hand. As she passed her kitchen counter she saw the key— Nigel's key. He must have forgotten it here when she gave it to him the other night. She picked it up as and walked to her door, unlocking it and flinging it open.

"Boys!" she yelled, getting the 'boys' attention. They stopped fighting (or, rather, Henry stopped pounding on Nigel) and looked up at her.

"Kate!" squeaked Nigel, "Help!"

"Henry, please get off of him," she said politely, almost laughing at the two of them. Henry was sitting on Nigel's chest, but got off when she asked him to.

"But Katie," said a distraught Henry, "This man was trying to break into your house!" Kate sighed.

"That's because he forgot his key," she said, glaring at Nigel and holding up the tiny metal key. Nigel blushed and got up, holding his aching stomach. Henry looked from Kate to Nigel, then back again.

"Wait... _he's_ Nigel?!" he asked, staring at the tall Brit like he had never seen a tall, dark-haired man before.

"Nice to meet you too," replied Nigel, extending one hand. Henry took in and gave it a shake before dropping it and sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Sorry I, err..."

"No problem, mate. I'd probably beat me up too, if I saw me trying to get into someone's house."

"Yeah, well. I really am sorry. I was just trying to protect you, Katie..." he tried to explain, gesturing vaguely in her direction.

"First of all, I don't need protecting. Secondly, you could have just asked him why he was trying to break in my house instead of going all ninja on him."

Nigel snickered. Apparently he had been rubbing off on her. Going 'all ninja' was the term he had used to describe her getting angry and shoving him not that long ago.

"My apologies," said Henry, then retreated to his townhouse. Nigel watched him go, then turned to Kate.

"Who's the Irish bloke? And why does he call you 'Katie'? And how does he know me?" Kate sighed.

"He's my neighbour, Henry McGregor. He's an accountant. And I might have mentioned you." Nigel shrugged, then walked up to her.

"I thought I'd come and see if you needed a ride to work," explained Nigel. "But you didn't answer the door, and I figured out I lost my key..."

"You left it on my counter." She pressed the key into his palm, which he quickly put in his pocket.

"Sorry about that. So— do you need a ride to work?" Kate smiled.

"Sure. Just..." she looked down at herself, wearing a tank top and pyjama bottoms. "Let me get ready." Nigel leaned in to kiss her before she ran upstairs to take a shower, and Kate put up her hand to stop him.

"You really don't want to kiss me right now," she explained, seeing his odd expression. "I threw up this morning and I haven't brushed my teeth yet." Nigel gave her a funny look, then put his hand on her forehead.

"You're not warm," he said, then lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "Are you feeling alright? Stomach pain, trouble going to the—"

"I'm fine, Nigel. Probably just ate something that didn't agree with me."

"Well, then," he replied, and grinned at her, "Want any company in the shower?"

XXX

"Jordan!" Woody called to his girlfriend after stepping off the elevator and spotting her down the hall. Jordan turned to look at him, and the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile when she saw what he was carrying.

"Are those for me?" she asked, tilting her head to one side and staring at the bundle of sunflowers. Woody nodded happily and offered them to her. She took them gently and enjoyed the whiff of planty-smell she got from them.

"Thanks, Woody! What's the occasion?" Woody stared blankly at her.

"Err, Valentine's Day?" he suggested, giving her that 'you forgot?' puppy-dog look. She blinked.

"Right. Today's the fourteenth?"

"Uh, _yeah_," said Woody, "Hence the flowers."

"They're beautiful, thank you. Hm, Valentine's Day really snuck up on us this year, huh? With all the stuff going on, I doubt anyone but my good-old-fashionedFarm Boy remembered." She gave him a playful smack on the shoulder.

"Actually, Bug had to remind us," he said sheepishly and Jordan almost gave in to the urge to giggle, "I'm sorry I forgot— where do you want me to take you for dinner? Any place you like."

"All-you-can-eat at the Beef'N' Brew?" she suggested, and he gave her the 'ha ha, very funny' look. "Oh, alright. Can't we just do something... simple? I've never really celebrated Valentine's Day that much..."

"We can do whatever your beautiful heart desires," he said. Jordan's eyes lit up my Christmas trees.

"Anything?"

"Anything," he said, knowing full well he was going to regret it later. But it was Valentine's Day, and he did want Jordan to be happy. She grinned, and he knew he was in trouble.

"Great. See you after your shift." She turned and practically skipped down the hallway to her office, leaving a perplexed— and quiet possibly frightened— Woody Hoyt behind.

XXX

It was almost time for him to pack up and get ready to take Kate to Da Sergio, where he had a waiter friend who snagged him reservations. It was a black-tie place, so Nigel would have to wear his monkey-suit just to get in the door. Silently he hoped Kate would wear the black spaghetti-strap dress. It was beautiful; he had seen it in her closet, and since had been imagining her in it.

"Aha!" said Nigel with glee, reading the open Internet Explorer page in front of him. "Yes!"

He had been searching for Max through Jordan; or rather, through her name. He had thought up a plan to find him, using his insurance plan. If he really had gone underground, changed his name and such, he would still put Jordan on his new insurance policy. And he had found a policy to which "Jordan Marie Cavanaugh" was the sole beneficiary. The name on the policy was "Maxwell Fosnaugh", age sixty-six. It was him. It _had_ to be him.

Nigel whipped out his cell and dialed Woody's cell number. It rang four times, then he got the 'your call can not be connected at this time' message from the annoying womanly computer voice. He hung up and tried his number at the precinct, to which he picked up.

"_Hoyt._"

"Woodrow, it's me. Listen, I got a lead on our— um, our... case."

"_A lead?_" asked Woody, immediately interested. "_A good one? Can we track him?_"

"Yes and no. I was going through insurance policies and going over their listed benificiaries—"

"_Is that legal?_"

"Not entirely... but it's their fault for not encrypting their files enough. Like I was saying, I was going through the policies and I came across one to whom our Jordan was the sole benificiary. A Mr. Maxwell Fosnaugh. Not very creative, is he?"

"_Thank you, Nige! Can we go after his driver's licence tomorrow?_" Nigel sighed with relief that Woody didn't want him to try tonight. He did have to get ready soon.

"Sure. See you then, Woodrow."

"_Bye._"

Nigel flipped his phone closed and saved his files on the computer, then stood and grabbed his leather jacket from the back of his chair. As he slipped it over his shoulders, his phone rang. He grabbed it from the table and flipped it back open, putting it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, Nigel, it's Bug. Could you do me a favour?_" Nigel sighed.

"Isn't it your day off?"

"_Yes._"

"Then please tell me it isn't work related."

"_It isn't. It has to do with Valentine's Day._" Nigel smiled and shook his head.

"As long as it won't take too long, I'll do your favour."

"_It won't, I promise. Go to my desk. In the top left drawer there is a slip of paper and a red rose. Could you take them to the addresswritten on the back of it and give it to Lily? She'll be sitting in the back booth._" Nigel went to Bug's desk and opened the drawer, took out the slip of paper and flipped it over. On the reverse side was and address that he recognised. It was on the way back to his apartment.

"Sure. It's on my way."

"_Thanks a ton, Nigel._"

"No problem. Bye." He hung up and put his phone and the slip of paper in his leather jacket's pocket. Bug was very weird, but Nigel was his best friend and did want him to succeed with whatever romantic thing he was planning for Lily.

He grabbed his helmet and headed for the elevator. He had an arrend to run, then he was off to get ready for his date. He smiled. Life was good.

XXX

Nigel looked on the back of the paper, then up at the coffee shop. It had to be the right place, the addresswas right. He got off his bike and took off his helmet, then walked in, smiling when the tiny bell above the door rang when he opened it.

He remembered Bug saying something about her being in the booth at the back, so that was were he headed first.

"Lily?" said Nigel, slightly confused sounding, when he saw the redhead, who was indeed sitting in the booth nearest the back. Lily put a necklace in a velvet box and closed it, turning to face him.

"Nigel, what are you doing here?" she asked, and Nigel shrugged.

"Bug said you'd be here and to give you this," he said, handing Lily the rose and the note, "I've got to go. Date. See you later." He turned and left the shop, leaving a slightly dumbounded Lily holding a rose and yet another note written in Bug's messy handwriting.

He shook his head and got back on his bike, then rode off in the direction of his house. He needed to shower, brush his hair, put on that blasted monkey-suit and tie, and all before five-thirty, when he was supposed to meet Kate at her townhouse. He sighed into the wind. He hated that suit.

XXX

"Ugh!" said Kate, riffling through her closet. She had nothing to wear!

She knew Nigel was taking het to some black-tie type Italian restaurant, and she had nothing formal enough to wear. She didn't own anything fancy; except for her wedding dresses, which were in the basement, but it wasn't like she could wear one of them. Actually, she should relly have sold them by now...

Kate sighed, putting her head against the wall. _Bang! Bang!_ Someone was at the door. _Nige_l was at the door, and she wasn't ready yet.

"It's open!" she yelled, and heard the door opened and Nigel's footprints on the stairs, then outside her room.

He knocked lightly, then said, "Are you decent?" Kate groaned.

"Like it matters," she replied, still digging through her closet. She heard him open the door and come in. He noticed she was having trouble figuring out what to wear.

"Can't decide what to wear?" he asked, and she nodded, still not facing him. "The black dress is nice."

She turned to look at him, making a face. She pulled the dress out of the closet and held it up. "This one?" she asked skeptically. He nodded.

Kate was looking at him funny, and he pulled on his tie uncomfortably. "What?"

"You look funny wearing a suit. It's so unlike you," she said with a smile. He smiled back.

"Yeah, well. I bet they wouldn't let me in the door if I was wearing a leather jacket." She nodded, the took a look at the black dress.

"I guess this'll do, but I don't even know if it'll fit. I haven't worn it in forever, not to mention it's my funeral dress..." Nigel shook his head. Her funeral dress? No wonder he hadn't seen her in it before.

She put it on anyway, and looked positively stunning in it.

"Shall we?" asked Nigel, extending his arm in her direction.

"Uh, sure," said Kate, taking his arm, and following his lead. _This is going to be a long night,_ she thought with a frown, _and most likely not a very enjoyable one._

XXX

It was half an hour into their 'date' and Kate was bored out of her mind. Nigel kept fiddling with his tie, loosening it then tightening it. He was obviously not having much fun, either.

"Nigel, are you having a good time?" she asked, putting down her wine glass and looking him in the eye.

"Of course I am, Love! Why would you think that I wasn't?" Kate sighed.

"You're a horrible liar."

"Am not."

"Are so. I can tell you're not having fun. You keep fixing your tie when there's nothing wrong with it, and for goodness sake we both know how much you 

hate wearing that suit. It's not you. And to tell you the truth, I don't enjoy this black-tie stuff as much as you seem to think I do." Nigel stared at her, then put down his own wine glass.

"I thought you'd like this place."

"Really?" Nigel shrugged.

"Don't all women want to be taken to really formal restaurantsand dress up and eat expensive food and wine?" Kate shook her head.

"Not really." Nigel heaved a sigh of relief. "You know what would be infinitely more romantic than this?"

"Err, no. What?"

"Going back to my place and watching horror movies, even if I do get the pants scared off me."

"Literally or figuratively?" Kate considered the question for a moment, then grinned.

"Both." Nigel smiled his 'Nigel-smile' at her, then held up his hand and beckoned the waiter.

"Check please!"

XXX

"You know, when you asked 'anthing?' and gave me that smile of yours, I didn't think that this was what you had in mind."

"People change, Woody." Jordan frowned. "You don't think this is romantic?"

"No, I do. And that's why I was so surprise when you asked if we could do this. It's not like you."

"Should I be insulted?"

"No. It's just... usually you want to play the boy." Jordan snickered.

"It's been a while since I said that, Woody," she said, smiling. He put an arm around her, and she rested her head on his chest, almost like they had out in LA the first time.

"This is nice," said Woody, looking out over Boston city as the sun set behind the buildings, "Who knew the roof of the Morgue had this great a view?" Jordan grinned at him.

"I did."

"Well, then. What else are you hiding from me?" She shook her head, then buried it deeper into his chest.

"Nothing, Farm Boy, I promise." She suggled closer to him. "It's cold up here."

"I knew we should have brought sweaters! It's still February, Jo. Not summer yet." She sighed and looked out at the sunset, completely ignoring him. Woody watched her closely; the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, the way the pinkish tint to the sky was reflecting off her honey coloured eyes. She looked absolutely beautiful, and he couldn't believe that she was his.

"It's not cold enough for sweaters. Just cold enough to justify snuggling," she finally stated, not looking at him. He gave her a kiss on the temple, then rested his cheek against the top of her head.

"My kind of weather." Jordan snorted back a laugh.

"Of course it is." She pretended to pout for a minute, then gave up. "Do you think it's late enough to break out the wine?"

"Whatever you want, Jordan." Woody reached out and took the two wine glasses off the top of their picnic blanket, while Jordan grabbed the wine from their basket and expertly popped the cork out of the neck of the bottle. She quickly filled each glass so the foam just touched the top, full but not too full, and put the bottle down again.

She took her glass from Woody, then held it up it a toast. "To making it to Valentine's Day without sabotaging this," she said, a smile turning up the corners of her lips. Woody raised his own glass.

"To us," he said, "And all that is to come." They clinked their glasses then put them to their mouths and each took a drink, Jordan downing half hers and Woody taking a tiny sip.

"Isn't this the part when you get up and run away?" asked Woody jokingly, drumming his pinkie finger on his wine glass. Jordan smiled.

"I'm not running this time."

"I just wanted to make sure." He lifted his glass again and this time drank half of it like Jordan had. "I always knew you needed someone to hold you a little tighter."

"You keep telling yourself that."

"Hey! I did!"

"_Sure._"

"Jordan...!"

The two continued to playfully fight with each other over basically nothing; just enjoying the banter at the sunset together. Meanwhile, six floors below them, a computer beeped.

Jordan had left the computer running, going through AFIS trying to find a match to the only print found at the crime scene she and Woody were working, the double with two males tied to chairs in the basement of a seemingly normal home in the 'burbs.

On the computer screen a name and photo popped up, and a little red bar switched to green as the fingerprint found it's counterpart. The name read 'Albie Sampson'.


	24. Chapter 24

_Sorry about some run-on sentences in this chapter... you might have to reread a few to make them make sense... this whole chapter ended up different than I thought it would. Oh, well. :) "It's where the mind takes you..."_

_And sorry this took longer than I expected... my plot bunny ran away for a little while, then Belle asked me to make a trailer for her fic "Deal With It" and post it on youtube, which took up my time... I know that's not a good excuse. Sorry. Anyway, if you want to watch her trailer, it's here: youtube(dot)com/watch?vDbJAh4wblM_

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Valetine's Day, Part III (Garret & Renee, Jeffrey & Maddie)**

It was about mid-day when Garret finished his final interview. The relief that swept over him as the goth woman left his office after he dismissed her with the "Don't call us, we'll call you" line was like when Abby was born. He felt so relieved that it was over, at last. Those interviews had really taken it out of him.

Adriana Rodriguez, the sister of the man who had done their review, was really the best suited and the best qualified for the job. He was going to hire her. Of course that meant another female to deal with (he already had Jordan and Kate and sometimes even Lily's moods to deal with, and didn't exactly need another one, but Adriana seemed more normal than any of them), but he would just have to deal with that. Heck, if he could deal with Jordan, he could deal with anyone. Well, except maybe Slokum.

Glancing at this calender, he realized that it was Valentine's Day. He was contemplating calling Maggie, just to wish her a happy Valentine's Day, or Abby, to see if she had plans, when his phone rang. He stared blankly at it for a minute, then realized he should probably answer it.

He reached out and grabbed the phone, barking a quick "Macy!" into the receiver.

"Garret?"

Garret blinked a few times. She sounded so quiet, almost in distress. That worried him. "Renee?"

"Yeah. Listen, I know it's Valentine's Day, and you probably have plans, but I was wondering if I could ask a favour of you." Garret nodded a few times before he remembered that you can't nod over the phone.

"Sure, Renee."

"It's just... Michael has gotten worse but refuses to let me take him to see the doctor, you know kids are." He did. When Abby was little he would be lucky to get her see a doctor or dentist one or twice a year. She despised them. "So I was just wondering if maybe you could come by and have a look at him... you know, make sure it's not something serious that I should be worried about..."

"Of course I will. I don't mind at all. I remember when Abby was little she wouldn't go within fifty feet of the doctor's office." He smiled at the memory. "When do you want me to come by?"

"Whenever you get off work."

"We're not really busy right now, I could come by now and just be on-call..."

"Garret, your a life saver." He grinned.

"It's really no problem. I'll be there in a few."

"Thanks again."

"Bye, Renee."

"Bye."

Garret put down his phone and got up from his chair, stretching. He had been sitting while interviewing and doing paperwork in between, and he had a back ache worse than the one had had gotten from the wheel-chair he had been confined to after the plane crash.

He grabbed a medkit from under the side panel in Trace on his way out (they kept one there for emergencies, since there tended to be more than the usual amount of 'emergencies' in their morgue) and went off to Renee's flat.

XXX

_Bang, bang!_ Renee heard Garret's knock from her son's bedroom and got up to answer it. She unlocked and opened the door, happy to her her ex standing there.

"Thank you so much for coming," she started, but he held up a hand.

"I told you, it's no problem. So, where is the little guy?"

"In his room," said Renee, leading him to it, "And thank you ag—"

"You've already thanked me ten times, Renee. It's no big deal, really." Garret entered Michael's bedroom and saw him sitting on his bed. It was true that he 

didn't look well; he was pale and sweaty, almost feverish looking, and he coughed loudly when Garret came in.

"Hello," said Michael, looking up at Garret, "Who awe you?"

"My name's Garret," said Garret, walking over to him and putting down his medkit on the floor. He got down on his knees in front of Michael and smiled at him. "How're you feeling, Buddy?" Michael shrugged.

"Icky," he complained, "My tummy and my neck hurts. And it's _weally_ cold in here." Garret put a hand on the small boy's forehead, not surprised when he felt warm.

"Renee, do you have a flashlight?" he asked, looking toward his ex hopefully. She nodded and disappeared toward the kitchen, then returned with a flashlight and handed it to him.

"Michael, can you say 'ah' and stick out your tongue like this," said Garret, extending his tongue, "Ahh." Michael nodded and mimicked him.

"Ahhh." He opened his mouth wide and stuck out his tiny pink tongue. Garret switched on the flashlight and looked into his mouth, not looking too happy at what he found.

"Thank you," he said, and Michael closed his mouth, smiling at him.

"Welcome, Gawet."

"He has a throat infection," explained Garret, standing up and handing Renee the flashlight back. "You should get him some amoxicillin." Renee nodded and smiled, while Michael looked uneasy.

"Awe you a doctaw?" he asked, sounding nervous.

"Sort of," replied Garret, turning back to Michael with a smile, "Except I don't usually work on people."

"Like a vet?" asked Michael hopefully, looking Garret with big, brown eyes.

"Sort of."

"Cool!"

Renee chuckled. "Michael, why don't you try to sleep some more while I talk to Garret?" Michael nodded and flopped down on his bed, grabbing a stuffed lion and hugging it to his chest.

Garret picked up his medkit and followed Renee out of the room, and she closed the door behind him so that it was about an inch open, so she could hear him if he yelled for her.

Then went to the living room and Renee gave him an unexpected hug. Garret lightly patted her on the back with his free hand, unsure of what he was supposed to do.

She stepped back from him, going back into her normal Renee Walcott mode. "So, throat infection, huh?" Garret nodded.

"Probably strep. I'd have to take a swab to be sure..."

"I'm sure Michael wouldn't mind. He thinks you're a vet," she said, smiling. Her smile could light up a room, and only Garret knew it, because she rarely smiled at work, where everyone knew her.

"And he thinks vets are better than doctors?" said Garret, frowning. Renee shook her head.

"No, but he loves animals and vets make sick animals better," she replied. "You know how kids are."

"Yeah, I do, Abby was the same way." He smiled and picked his medkit back up. "So you want me to take a swab now to see if it's strep throat, so should I come back later when he's awake?"

"Oh, he's not sleeping. He's just pretending to sleep while really he's up and listening at the door."

"No I'm not!" yelled Michael from his room, and Garret smiled.

"I'll go get that swab now." He went to Michael's room and saw him sitting on his bed with a smile on his face.

"What's a 'swab'?" he asked seriously. Garret chuckled.

"It's like a cotton ball on the end of a little stick," he explained, getting one out of the medkit and holding it up, "See?"

"What's it faw?"

"It's for telling me why you're sick and how we can make you better," said Garret, "All I have to do it touch it to the back of your throat and then put it in a special machine where I work and it'll tell me how to make you better."

"Cool!" said Michael excitedly. "Do I to say 'ah' again, Gawet?"

"Uh-huh," he said, nodding. Michael opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue.

"Ahhhh!" Garret quickly swabbed the back of Michael's throat and he giggled.

"That tickles!" He put the swab in it's box and stood up.

"I'll see you later, okay, Buddy. I've got to go back to work and see what your swab shows."

"Okey-dokey Gawet."

Garret half-closed the door behind him like Renee had, then went to leave the flat when he saw a photograph of Michael and, presumably, his father, at the zoo.

Michael was grinning broadly and snuggling a stuffed elephant, while Eddie, his father, held him up so he was almost standing on the back of a bench. It wasn't the scene that had caught his attention, nor was it Michael. Garret had never met Eddie, but in the picture, he looked nothing like his son.

Eddie had bleach-blonde hair and blue eyes, was tall and thin and had a large nose and thin lips. Michael, on the other hand, had brown hair and brown eyes, and looked a lot like Renee. He reminded Garret of when Abby was that age, his smile looking a lot like hers... like his?

"Oh," said Garret, surprised. He hadn't noticed Michael's likeness to Abby when he had met him, probably because he was so sick and had focussed on his symptoms.

Renee popped her head around the corner. "What's wrong?"

"Oh... nothing," said Garret, "I'll... see you later." He left her apartment quickly, afraid of what he might say if he stayed anylonger.

"Bye." Renee watched him go, a little curious as to why he left in such a hurry. Shaking her head, she went to check on Michael, then call their family doctor and ask for a prescription of amoxicillin.

XXX

Jeffrey glanced at his watch for the umpteenth, then back at the defense attorny. This was taking much longer than he had anticipated. He was supposed to meet Megan, Maddie's babysitter, outside of the building ten minutes ago.

"Are we keeping you, Mr. Brandau?" Jeffrey was startled when Judge Carter directed the question at him. He blushed visibly.

"N-no, sir," he stuttered, painfully aware that the entire jury was watching him.

Linda Clark, the defense attorney, glanced at him. They were friends once upon a time, before she moved to New York. She had recently came back to Boston, but they hadn't had time to rekindle as of yet.

"Your Honor, may I request a ten minute recess?" she asked Judge Carter politely, who nodded.

"I don't see why not. Court will resume after a ten minute recess." Jeffrey sighed and looked over at Linda.

"Thank you so much, Linda. I'll be right back," he promised, practically running from the courtroom, leaving an amused defense attorney Judge behind.

XXX

"Megan! Hey, Megan!" Jeffrey called when he saw her sitting on the steps of the courthouse. "I'm so sorry; that took longer than I thought it would."

Megan smiled and told him that it was quite alright, handing him his daughter, who was actually quiet for once.

"She ust had her nap, and since Mahesh sung her to sleep she'll be fine for another couple hours," she explained. Jeffrey nodded and bid Megan farewell, before rushing back into the courthouse to finish their trial. It would be harder while watching Maddie, but not impossible; especially since she was quiet at the moment.

XXX

He got in just as everyone was taking their seats again, right on time.

"Nine of you to join us, Mr. Brandau," said Judge Carter with a smile. Luckily this wasn't a murder trial, so almost everything was more lax than it would normally be. "And... baby Brandau?"

Jeffrey smiled weakly and took his seat across the isle from Linda, putting Maddie's carrier down beside him. He gently rocked it with his foot while Linda did her best to prove that the defendant, Alexander Fox, couldn't have broken into his ex girlfriend, Amy Roche's apartment.

Jeffrey's case was solid, though, and he had no doubt that the defendant did it. He had broken into her apartment, broken her things and torn up all her photographs, smashed a few of her windows and basically just trashed the place, 

leacing his fingerprints everywhere. Linda knew that he'd done it, too, but it was her job to try to prove otherwise.

"And his best friend, Jacob Gold, can verify his alibi."

"That he was, err..." Judge Carter raised an eyebrow, "'Getting wankered the Blue Elephant'?"

"That is correct, sir," said Linda, a smile turning up the corners of her mouth. She glanced at Jeffery, who was trying his best not to laugh. It wasn't that it was a bad alibi, espcially since his friend could verify, but the terminology in his statement. You don't usually hear someone telling a Judge that they couldn't have commited a crime because they were out somewhere 'getting wankered' or 'getting really drunk'.

"Anything to say, Mr. Brandau?"

Jeffrey stood up and cleared his throat. "Mr. Fox's alibi doesn't cover the entire window in which the crime was committed, so even though he was, err, 'getting wankered' between nine and two AM, it is still quite possible that he committed the offence before that time. Miss Roche left her apartment at seven thirty, leaving an hour and a half window of opportunity in which Mr. Fox could have broken into her apartment."

Judge Carter raised his eyebrows, then looked toward Linda. "Is this true, Miss Clark?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"The jury can now make it's decision," he said, cutting her off. Linda didn't seem the least bit perturbed by this; she hadn't had anything that could prove him innocent anyway. "Court will resume at nine o'clock tomorrow morning." He banged his gavel on the desk and everyone stood, collection their belongings.

Jeffrey picked up Maddie's carrier and put it on the desk, grinning at her.

"I think we won," he told the baby seriously, and Linda chuckled from her desk, where she was collecting papers and putting them in her briefcase.

"Teaching her young that Daddy's always on the good side?" she joked, picking up her briefcase and walking up to them.

"Yep," he said, then made a funny face in his daughter direction, "Isn't that right, baby?" Maddie started babbling in reply, and Linda smiled.

"She's adorable. How old?"

"Four months," said Jeffrey. He looked around, realising they were the last ones left in the courtroom. "Wow, they cleared out fast."

Linda laughed and put down her briefcase beside Maddie's diaper bag on the floor, leaning in to peer at the tiny person.

"You're a cutie," she said, and Maddie made a cooing noise. Jeffrey was surprised she hadn't started screaming yet. This was the quietest he'd ever seen her. "I bet your Mommy and Daddy and very happy to have such a pretty little girl."

Maddie reached up and attempted to grab Linda's nose, but missed. "Ahabaahabhabah."

"That's baby talk for 'you're pretty'," explained Jeffrey, wiggling his finger in front of his daughter. She grabbed it with both hands and held on, smiling happily.

"What's her name?" asked Linda, admiring Maddie's big smile.

"Madeleine, Maddie for short."

"Your wife must be so happy she's quiet like this." Jeffrey laughed mirthlessly, gently pulling his finger from Maddie's grip.

"Who says I'm married?"

"You have a baby..."

"Shared custody."

"Oh."

The pair were quiet as they gathered up their things and lef the courthouse together, and the only thing breaking the silence was Maddie's cooing.

"Listen, if you're not busy..." started Jeffrey once they reached the steps outside or the courthouse, "Maybe we could go for coffee and... catch up?"

Linda thought about it, then smiled. "I'd like that."

"Great, 'cause I know this wonderful little coffee shop..."


	25. Chapter 25

_Okay, so yeah, this is long. :( It's an introduction to Adriana, mostly. I've snuck some of the regular plot in, though. :) _

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Tracking and Meeting Old Friends**

"So the wide-mouth-frog says, 'oh'," said Jordan, keeping her mouth really tiny when she said 'oh'. Woody laughed and playfully punched her in the arm.

"I get it! Wide-mouth-frog!"

"Yeah, Woody. It's funny for about a second. Man, you are so easy to amuse!" Woody grinned at her, dimples doing their work. She frowned, then stopped outside autopsy 1.

"You want to watch me cut open a dead guy?" Woody stopped grinning.

"Uh, no, thank you. I'll see you later. I've got to check in with Nigel." Jordan nodded and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then put on a lab coat and went over to autpsy her heart-attack-on-a-public-bus.

Woody, meanwhile, snuck off to Trace to meet with Nigel.

"Nige!" hissed Woody from the doorway, and Nigel looked up from his computer.

"Woodrow! Great your here. I came in early to track—" Nigel stopped and looked past Woody into the hallway, where a few graveyard-shift workers were getting on the elevators and Lily and Bug were coming in. "—you know who."

"And how's that going?" asked Woody excitedly.

"Brilliant. I found his alias, which is Maxwell Fosnaugh. This morning I started going after his credit card purchases under that name, and I found out that he recently purchased a used navy Chevy, and a custom plate." He paused, probably for dramatic effect. "In New York."

"Yesss!" said Woody. "Wait, did you say he's in New York?"

"New York, New York," said Nigel with his usual grin, "And his licence plate—'e-v-i-d-n-c-e'."

Woody groaned. "Evidence? Seriously? Geez, Max! Can you _get_ any more unimaginative?"

"My thoughts exactly, Woodrow. So, you taking the early flight or the late one?" Woody looked at his watch.

"Well, it's eight now, so if I leave now I can probably get to the Logan by nine thirty, ticket by ten... do they have an eleven o'clock flight?" Nigel's fingers went to work and flew over the keyboard, pulling up the Logan Airport's flights.

"Noon is your best bet." Woody thought about it.

"You know, that's good, because it'll take me twenty minutes to pack... and ten to lie to Jordan as to why I'm going to New York."

"Good luck with that, Woodrow."

"I'm going to need it."

XXX

"New York! Woody, you can't just run off to—" Woody basically tuned her out after that. He had anticipated yelling; and her wanting an explanation. One that he didn't have.

"Why? Why do you want to go to New York?"

"There's this case I'm working on... I have a lead in New York."

"What case?" she demanded, and he sighed.

"I..." I looked at my watch, "I have to go now, Jo, if I'm going to make my flight."

"Make your— _make your flight_? Woody, you can't just run off when you feel like it! Especially not so suddenly!"

"I'm sorry, Jordan. I'll be back in a day or two; I promise. And I'll call every night." Jordan considered it.

"Every night, and morning," she countered, and he nodded quickly.

"Sure, just— I've gotta go."

"Okay," said Jordan, giving him a peck on the lips. "Love you."

"I love you too!" he yelled on his way out, walking backwards to the elevators. He was going to New York!

XXX

Adriana Rodriguez got off the elevator just as Woody hopped on, not really noticing each other. She was grinning from ear to ear; getting called back after a job interview was always a good sign.

"Excuse me, Miss?" Emmy looked up as the pretty blonde woman addressed her. "I have a meeting with Dr. Macy?"

"Welcome back, Miss Rodriguez!" greeted Emmy happily. Adriana and Emmy had had a nice chat while waiting for her interview to begin, and Emmy had been hoping that Adriana would be chosen to fill the new position. "He's alone now, so you can go right in."

"Thanks," said Adriana, then walked to Garret's office almost selfconciously. She knocked lightly.

"Come in!" barked Garret, and she opened the door, still grinning.

"Dr. Macy?"

"Ah, Dr. Rodriguez, come in, come in," he said, giving her his normal half-smile. "We need to talk." Adriana smiled and went into the office, closing the door behind her and sitting down in the chair across from him.

"I think you're best suited for the position," said Garret, getting to the point. Adriana gave a happy sigh of relief.

"Really? Thank you, sir."

"When can you start?"

"Now, if you need me." Adriana was thrilled. She'd been in Boston a week and she already had a job at one of the best Morgues in the country.

"How about we just introduce you to the team and get you settled in today, and you actually start tomorrow?" suggested Garret, happy that she was so eager to begin.

"Okay." Garret stood and offered her his hand. She shook it, her eyes lighting up.

"Welcome aboard, Dr. Rodriguez. Now, I think Nigel is in Trace Evidence..."

He led the new ME to Trace, poking his head in. "Good, Nigel, you're here. This is Dr. Rodriguez, our new ME."

"Hi," said Adriana shyly, extending her hand.

"Dr. Rodriguez, this is Nigel Townsend, our criminologist."

"Pleasure to meet you, Love. Call me Nigel, everybody does."

"Only if you call me Adriana," Adriana countered, and Nigel chuckled. "I'm guessing London, been here just over ten years?" Nigel stared blankly at her.

"How'd you guess?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked, "I'm psychic." Nigel grinned and looked over at Garret.

"I like her!"

"She's not psychic, Nigel, she's from Liverpool." Adriana giggled.

"It's the accent; I've heard enough of them to know who is from where." Nigel nodded.

"Wouldn't have guessed. You don't even have an accent." Adriana shrugged. Nigel remembered something. "Say, isn't Bug from Liverpool?"

"I believe so," said Garret, putting a hand on Adriana's shoulder, "He's in the Bullroom, right?" Nigel nodded and turned back to his computer, where he was trying to reconstruct the face of a skeleton found in the woods for the graveyard-shift.

"The Bullroom is just over here," said Garret, leading Adriana, "It's where Bug and Nigel's desks are, and where we'll be putting yours." Adriana nodded.

"Who's 'Bug'?" she asked.

"Dr. Vijay. He's our resident entomologist, so you to will probably have a lot to talk about."

"Vijay, huh? That wouldn't happen to be short for Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy, would it?" Garret stared at her, open mouthed.

"I... didn't realise it was that common a name." Adriana shook her head.

"It's not. But what are the chances there are two entomologists from Liverpool with the last name 'Vijay'?"

"Uh..." said Garret, pushing open the door to the door to the Bullroom. "Bug, this is—"

"Heshy!" squealed Adriana, flinging her arms around the startled entomologist.

"Uh, hi?" he asked, sounding thoroughly confused.

"Geez, I haven't seen you in forever!" continued Adriana, "I guess we haven't been keeping in touch as well as I thought. I didn't even know you lived in Boston!" Garret watched this exchange with a raised eyebrow. Obviously their new ME knew Bug from somewhere.

"Dr. Macy, who is this?" asked Bug, gesturing the woman who was still hugging him tightly.

"This is our new ME, Dr. Rodriguez. She seems to know you."

"I noticed," said Bug, gently pulling her off him. "How do I know you?"

"You used to babysit me?" said Adriana, "Durrh." Bug eyes widened in shock and realisation, his mouth forming a silent 'oh'.

"Adriana? _Adriana Rodriguez_? Wow! You've gotten taller," he said, looking the pretty blonde up and down.

"You haven't," she said, giggling. "Then again, the last time you saw me I was twelve..."

"Dr. Macy, Adriana was my nest door neighbour when I grew up in Liverpool," he explained to a confused looking Garret, "Who would've thought..."

"...That I'm the new ME at a Morgue where you work? I know! What are the odds?"

"Sixty-two thousand, four hundred and twelve... to one." Garret sighed and shook his head. Bug and his statistics.

"I don't think she meant literally, Bug." Bug looked disappointed, but put a friendly arm around Adriana.

"I still can't believe it. Why didn't you tell me you were coming to Boston?" he asked her, and Adriana shrugged.

"First of all, I didn't know you'd be here. Secondly, I didn't really want too many people I knew to know where I was." Garret's brow furrowed.

"Why?"

"Stalker ex. I've had four restraining orders, but he just won't leave me alone." Bug gave her shoulder a sympathetic squeeze, and Garret frowned.

Garret watched the old friends reconnect, and felt a pang in his heart, thinking of how much he wanted that with Renee. Just to be friends again. They were civil, now, of course, but he wanted more than that. He sighed and shook his head. That all depended on how the paternity test he had sent away for came back.

"Hem. Sorry to interrupt, but maybe you'd like to meet the rest of the staff?" suggested Garret, and Adriana, startled, turned her gaze back to her new boss.

"Oh! Right. Sorry, sir."

"You don't have to call me 'sir', Dr. Rodriguez."

"Then you don't have to call me Dr. Rodriguez."

"Fine. Adriana. So, on to the crypt?" She nodded eagerly and bid a quick farewell to Bug, who still looked a bit overwhelmed by the whole encounter. It wasn't every day someone from your past pops up in such an unexpected way.

"This is the crypt," said Garret, motioning toward the swinging doors. Adriana nodded and pushed the door a little peeking inside.

"It looks just like the one we had back in Liverpool," she observed, a smile turning up the corners of her mouth again.

"They all look alike after a while," said Garret, then turned and motioned toward the next set of doors, "This is Autopsy 1... technically it's the only autopsy room since the other was converted into a computer room, but it's still called that." Adriana nodded, and Garret pushed open the door for her. "After you."

Adriana walked into Autopsy 1, taking a good look around. Someone was already preforming an autopsy, and hat someone had long, dark hair and was singing to herself.

"Ahem, Jordan?" Jordan stopped singing and turned toward Garret, frowning.

"I'm busy."

"I know, I just wanted to introduce you to our new ME. Dr. Rodriguez, this is Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh." He motioned toward a disdainful looking Jordan.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Cavanaugh," said Adriana brightly and Jordan sighed.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Listen, I'd shake your hand but I'm elbow deep in this heart attack guy—"

"That's quite alright, Dr. Cavanuagh. Sorry to disturb you." Garret lead Adriana out of Autopsy 1, where they ran into Kate.

"Dr. Switzer! This is Adriana Rodriguez, our new ME," said Garret, gesturing to her. Adriana offered her hand and Kate shook it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," said Adriana in the same bright tone she'd greeted Jordan with. Kate looked her up and down, then smiled.

"Are you single?" she asked, and Adriana looked a little worried.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Good. I made a bet with Nigel that you would be. He sooo owes me twenty bucks. See you around, Kid." She turned on her heal and left a bemused Garret and Adriana behind. Adriana looked up at Garret.

"They were betting on me?" Garret shrugged.

"Nigel bets on everything; don't be offended."

"Okay."

XXX

Kate flung open the doors to Trace, grinning. She held out her hand.

"I asked her and she's single. Twenty bucks." Nigel's smile disappeared, and he reached for his wallet.

"Oh, alright, you win," he said, and Kate grinned again.

"Don't I always?"


	26. Chapter 26

_Yay for my plot bunny coming back, and my writer's block being conquered! I can see an end coming to this story soon... and I'm already planning a sequel!_

_And yes, I know this chapter is very short compared to the lat one, but that was very, very long idea that I tried to shorten and this idea I couldn't figure out anyway to lengthen it._

**Chapter Twenty-Six: MIA**

Jordan pulled off her rubber gloves with a _snap!_ And tossed them in the trash can, then pulled a blue sheet over 'heart attack guy'.

She was about to go ask Garret if he had someone else she could cut open, when she remembered that she had been running the bloody print from her double homicide over night, but hadn't been in to check if it had matched someone.

She pulled off her lab coat and went to the computer room, where on one of the monitors near the back her AFIS search was still up. When she walked in she saw that it had gotten a hit, and she smiled with relief. That case had almost gone cold (which Jordan never excepted easily), but at least now they had a lead.

Jordan clicked the match box and a name and photo popped up. She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.

"How did he get out?" she moaned, obviously referring to Albie Sampson, whose name had just came up on the screen. "He's supposed to be in jail!"

XXX

"Now boarding flight 314; now boarding flight 314 to New York City." Woody grinned. That was his flight.

He picked up his luggage and had it checked, then gave it to the 'loader dude' (as Nigel had referred to him earlier) and headed to get on the plane.

A sign flashed just as he was about to board: PLEASE TURN OFF CELL PHONES. He had forgotten!

He grabbed his cell and quickly turned it off. He had a long flight ahead of him.

XXX

Jordan was still fuming. Aparently Albie Sampson had gotten out on a technicality, and he and his family were killing again. What connection did he have to the two tortured men in the basement? What information could they have possibly had to get Albie Sampson's own attention, personally?

Nigel walked into the room, smiling. "Jordan, we got an ID on one of your John Does from the basement. Someone filled a missing person's this morning."

Jordan looked up from a report in surprise.

"After they've been gone for more than two weeks, at least, they're just filing a MP now?" she asked, "That sounds suspicious."

"Well his wife is flying in from Kewaunee and will be here in an hour. You can ask her then."

"Kewaunee? As in, Kewaunee, Wisconsin?" Nigel nodded.

"Yeah, that place where Woody's from. Why, you don't think this has something to do with him, do you?" Jordan shook her head.

"Well, no, of course not."

"Here's his file," said Nigel, handing her the missing person's report, "I'd go over it before his wife gets here." Jordan nodded and left the computer room, following Nigel out and going her her office.

_Mister Jackson Noah Webb Age: 30_

_Height: 6'1" Weight: 160 lbs_

_Hair: blonde Eyes: blue_

_Medical Alert: Penicillin Allergy_

Jordan shook her head. The blonde John Doe, or, rather, Jackson Webb, was the one that had had his throat slashed.

Jordan put down the report and sat down at her desk to wait for Mrs. Webb to arrive. Things were getting complicated.

XXX

Woody leaned back in the cramped plane seat. Why he had opted for coach when he could have afforded private, he didn't know? The kid behind him kept kicking his seat, and he was crammed between a fat Norwegian man and his wife, who were apparently having an argument over some lyrics to a lullaby in Norwegian.

"No, no, no, no, no!" said the man, a think accent to his voice, "The words are 'So ro, lillemann, nå er dagen over. Alle mus i alle land ligger nå og sover. So og ro og tipp på tå, sov min vesle pode. Reven sover også nå med halen under hodet'." He sang it slowly and what was supposed to be sweetly, Woody guessed, but to him it sounded like gibberish being sung in annoying baby-speak.

"But that means, 'Sleep tight, little man, now the day is over. All the mice from every land now are sleeping soundly. Sleep tight and tippy toe, sleep my little baby. Sleeping is the fox too now his tail curled for a pillow'. That does not make sense!"

"Yes it, does!" complained the man, and Woody sunk lower in his seat with a groan. This flight was going to be longer than he thought.

XXX

"Mrs. Webb!" greeted Lily, having already been debriefed by Nigel on the goings on. "We are so sorry for your loss."

Mrs. Webb, a petite red-head with large, watering blue eyes, nodded and looked as though she were trying not to cry, though obviously she had been.

"Come in here, Mrs. Webb." She motioned to the briefing room, where Mrs. Webb took a seat and Lily sat across from her.

Jordan spotted them going in and quickly followed, joining them in the briefing room and taking a seat next to Lily.

"Mrs. Webb, do you have any idea why your husban would be in Boston?" asked Lily, leaning forward of her elbows. "I mean, it's a far cry from Wisconsin; he must have had a reason to be here..."

"No, he was supposed to be camping," said Mrs. Webb, a single tear running down her already red cheek. "With his friends down near Tisch Mills." She let out a sob, a hand going her to mouth to stifle it. Lily gave her an apologetic look.

"You say he was with his friends? We're going to need those names," said Jordan, and Mrs. Webb nodded sellenly. "And if you don't mind me asking, why did it take you so long to report him missing?"

"They were supposed to be gone for two weeks," she explained, and Lily nodded, "When they didn't come home right away, I thought they'd just lost track of time... but after three weeks I got worried and c-contacted the sheriff to file a missing person's." Jordan nodded and took a note, then pulled out a picture of their second John doe.

"Mrs. Webb, do you know who this is?" asked Jordan, putting the photo on the table and pushing it towards her. Mrs. Webb sniffled, then picked up the photo.

"Oh my gosh," said Mrs. Webb, turning over the photo and putting it back down on the table. "Micky, Micky's dead, t-too?" Lily and Jordan glanced at each other.

"You know him?"

"Jack w-was camping with him," she said, wiping away another tear.

"Who else were they camping with?" asked Jordan, and Lily shot her a look. Lily never approved of questioning the distraught families, but in a double homicide that was close to running cold they had no choice.

"Cal was with them. It was Jack, Micky... that is, Mitchel Perry, and Cal, Calvin Hoyt." Both Lily and Jordan's jaws dropped in shock when Woody's brother's name was mentioned.

"Oh no," said Lily quietly, almost breathing the word rather than saying it.

"Damn," said Jordan, now knowing full well why Albie Sampson was involved. He was trying to find, and probably kill, Cal, because it was, ultimately, his fault that Albie had been caught. It was also the reason Cal and Woody were no longer on speaking terms. Woody had never forgiven him for putting Jordan in danger.

Mrs. Webb looked from one morgue employee to the other, obviously not understanding how they knew Cal. Lily broke out of the shocked trance first, her mind in over-drive.

"Jordan, should you be calling Woody?" she said breathlessly, and Jordan nodded, grabbing her phone and holding the three in. Woody was third on her speed-dial, Garret's cell being first and Nigel's being second.

Lily tried to comfort the grieving widow while Jordan's phone rang and rang. She groaned. He must have already turned off his phone for the flight. Jordan looked up at Lily and shook her head, motioning toward her phone.

"Where is he?" she asked, and Jordan shrugged.

"Somewhere between here and New York."

Lily thought about it, then brightened, "Don't you have Cal's number somewhere?" Jordan's eyes widened and she jumped from the chair, rushing to her office.

She flung open her desk drawer, searching through numerous slips of paper she should really have catalogued or something. She began sat down in her chair, feeling defeated. It would take forever to sort through all this, but she hadn't a choice.

She started to sort through the papers, occasionally throwing one away, but mostly just making a stack on her desk. Phone numbers written on the back of bar receipts were trash-can worthy, as were ones without names, or names she didn't recognise.

It took her an hour, but finally, _finally_, she found the lined piece of paper with a single name and two phone numbers on it; Cal Hoyt, his cell and his home number.

Jordan grabbed her phone, knocking over the delicate pile of papers she had made as she sorted through her numerous phone numbers and over-due reports. She called both numbers twice, only succeeding in getting his voice mail.

"Great, this is just fan-freaking-tastic," she muttered sarcastically to herself, flipping her phone closed and tossing it carelessly on her desk. Not only was Cal missing in action, but she was unable to contact Woody and tell him. Not to mention the fact that Cal's life may very well hang in the balance.

Jordan sighed, leaning back in her chair and pinching the bridge of her nose. Her Valentine's Day he been perfect, and then this happens so soon after? She really had bad luck. What had she done, broken a mirror?

There was a knock on her door and Jordan looked up to see Lily there, concern showing in her features. 'Any luck?' her look seemed to say and Jordan shook her head.

"None." Lily groaned and flopped down on Jordan's couch, rubbing her hands over her face in defeat.

"Where is Woody? Why can't you reach him?"

"He's on a plane to New York," said Jordan, still pinching the bridge of her nose, "Logan's new policy is that cell phones must be turned off during flight. They've been linked to some crashes lately. They think they interrupt radio frequencies or something like that."

Lily nodded slowly, as though Woody being on his way to New York was the most normal thing in the world, rather than a strange occurrence.

"So," said Lily after a moment, looking at her friend, "What are we going to do?"


	27. Chapter 27

_Okay, truthfully, I have very little idea what an Russian accent sounds like... I rememer someone saying that they say their 'w's like 'v's, so that's how I wrote the Russians... if that's wrong, feel free to tell me. :) _

_Also, I don't speak Russian (or Norwegian, for that matter) so the words in either language were either translated by one of my friends (I have a pair of friends who speak German ((they're twins)), one who speaks Norwegian and one who speaks Polish) or through an on-line dictionary. If anything is wrong, please tell me and I'll fix it right away._

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Problems**

"Hey! Hey! Hey! That's him, there," said a short, dark-haired, Russian man named Mikhail Sidorov, pointing across the street. Pavel Ianov and Sergei Tchaikovsky both pulled out their binoculars, peering at the brown-haired man they were following.

Pavel whipped out a cell phone and dialed the boss's number to check in. "Vee have Hoyt in our sights," he said, putting down his binoculars.

"_Which one?_" asked Albie impatiently.

"Calvin's brother. Voody."

"_Keep an eye out for Calvin. He's the target._"

"Vee vill keep an eye out for Calvin, sir, but vhat do vee do vith Voody?"

"_Nothing. Let him lead us to his brother. We already know that Townsend helped him track him down, so he must to in New York._"

"Aye, sir." Pavel closed his phone and put it down on the railing in front of him, picking up his binoculars again and putting them to his eyes.

"There! See, he keeps valking past the same building," said Mikhail, pointing, "Maybe Calvin is hiding in there."

"Vee must vait and see," said Sergei, putting down his own binoculars on the railing and taking a doughnut from the box to his left. "Remember vhat Albie said: let Voody lead us to his brother." Pavel nodded, but Mikhail shot Sergei a look.

"I am in charge, Sergei," he told Sergei angrily, "Albie trusts me to control you two. So if you vould like to give the orders, take it up vith him. For right now, you do not tell me vhat vee should do."

"Alright, alright, don't be a проигравшего." Mikhail gritted his teeth as his subordinate called him what translated from Russian loosely into 'loser'.

Pavel winced as his friend called Mikhail a loser. In order to look better, Pavel added, "Vhat a осел," which loosely translated into 'jackass'. Sergei shot him a dirty look and Pavel immaturely stuck out his tongue.

Mikhail looked to the Heavens and asked the Lord why he had stuck him with two idiots on such an important job. The Lord did not reply.

XXX

Woody was pacing back and forth past a building in New York City. His plane had landed not an hour before, and he had already rented a car and drove it here. 'Here' was where Woody thought Max might be living.

Nigel had pulled Max's credit card records, and found that every month he payed the owner of this building a little over nine hundred dollars. If that wasn't rent, Woody didn't know what it was.

So he was pacing waiting for Max to either return home or try to leave. It wasn't the best plan, but it was the only one he had.

XXX

"Come on! Come on, Woody, pick up!" Jordan said, almost chanted, actually, into her phone while shifting from foot to foot. It'd been an hour and a half, and he hadn't called yet to say that he'd landed, nor was his phone on, apparently. She got his voice mail for the fifth time that hour.

"Any luck yet?" asked Nigel, popping his head into her office. Jordan shook her head in deffeat. It was useless; until he called her to say good night, like he promised he would, he was MIA. As was Cal.

"Well, when you get a hold of him, tell him I said hi. I got a liquid man." He wrinkled his nose then left, closing her door quietly behind him. Jordan sighed.

XXX

Kate was pacing her office. This could not be happening. No. Not a chance. No way. She was careful. She couldn't be... no.

She pulled on her lab coat and walked to Trace, automatically regretting her dicision to go visit Nigel when she opened the doors. The smell was horrible: they had just gotten a small-space decomp; human soup.

"Uh," she said, wrinkling her nose. Dr. Macy and Nigel looked up, both wearing clothes-pins on their noses. It would be a funny sight, her boss and her boyfriend supporting clothes-pins on their noses, had the smell no been so overwhelming.

"Suitcase-man," said Garret, and Nigel nodded, glancing at the 'soup'. Kate plugged her nose with her thumb and index finger.

"He smells," she stated, and Nigel chuckled.

"Oo get oosed to ib," said Nigel, his accent plug the nose plug making his voice sound a little weird.

"It's a good thing you came now," said Garret, "We could use a third pair of hands to get him out."

"Uh, sure," said Kate, letting go of her nose and grabbing a pair of rubber gloves off the table and putting them on. "How long as he been in there?" she motioned toward the suitcase, which was unopened on a table.

"It was left at the airport, unattended, about a month and a half ago," said Garret, "They put it in the lost and found. It was never claimed."

"Amb day calbed us 'en dee smell gob bahd," said Nigel, wincing as he heard his own voice. His 'and they called us when the smell got bad' was almost not understandable.

"We're thinking he's an illegal."

"So, at least a month and a half... in a three-foot-by-one-foot suitcase? No wonder it stinks. This guy is probably a skeleton and some human soup already."

Garret nodded and reached for the zipper. "Ready?" he asked, and the other two nodded quickly. He pulled the zipper and they got the full fledged decomp smell. Normally Kate was good with smells. Blocking them out. At that moment, she wasn't.

"Oh, ugh!" she said, making a face. She turned around and the men gave her a look, until she bent over the garbage can and violently threw up.

Nigel went to her, pulling off his rubber gloves and holding her hair up.

From their body language, Garret figured out that they were seeing each other. He nearly smacked himself because it had been so obvious; the little glances, the bickering, Nigel's mysterious new girlfriend that no one had met. It all made sense after watching Nigel's quick reaction to her being sick and pulling her hair out of the way like he had done it before.

He glanced down at the suitcase and pushed open the lid. It was true that you got used to the smell; and Kate had always had the toughest stomach. Why she had thrown up this time when she'd had worse, he didn't know. Maybe she wasn't feeling well in the first place. ...or maybe something had changed.

"Kate, maybe you shouldn't work this one." Kate had finished throwing up and was clutching the garbage can.

"Uh, yeah."

"Why don't you go sit down in your office?" Kate nodded and Nigel let go of her hair. "If you see Bug, tell him to join us in here."

"Okay." She pulled off the rubber gloves and put them down, then left Trace. She took a gulp of fresh air, which helped her nausea.

"Hey, Kate," said Bug, walking toward her. "Are you okay? You look a little green."

"Just... threw up," she explained, and he raised an eyebrow. "Nigel and Dr. Macy need your help with some guy in a suitcase. Probably an illegal." Bug nodded.

"Alright." He was about to leave when he stopped. "Hope you feel better." He went into Trace and Kate heard his exclamation of "God, that stinks!" from outside. She shook her head, but instead of heading to her office she went to Jordan's. What she really needed was a girl-to-girl chat. And between Jordan and Lily, Kate would choose Jordan in a millisecond.

Kate had a... problem. And she needed some advice on how to handle it.


	28. Chapter 28

_Okay, so I was a little obvious with the hints... :) I can't help it, I'm not good at writing "subtle". And Kate is... well, subtle as a train wreck. _

_I wanted to give Kate a past that no one would suspect... I reason for her to be so detached in her work... and that's in this chapter._

_Also, I owe a thank you to everyone who had been reviewing... it really means a lot to me that you all like this story enough to stick with it for so long... love you all! _

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Girl Talk and New York City**

Kate nervously walked up to the door of Jordan's office. She didn't know why she was nervous— well, actually she did, but she didn't want to admit it. And she was about to admit it to Jordan Cavanaugh.

If anyone had asked her two or three months ago if she would want to discuss something as private as this with Jordan, she would have laughed in their face. Then again, if anyone had asked three months ago if she thought she would be in this predicament, she would have punched them.

She didn't even want to except herself that she was in such a predicament. It wasn't like her at all. Then again, those antibiotics they had to take after they got poisoned were most likely the cause of her medication failing... but it was her fault she forgot to mention to the doctors she was taking anything either than her Xanax. Not that she could even take that, now...

Sighing, Kate knocked on Jordan's door. It was now or never. She needed to talk about it, and the only other option was Lily, and they didn't really get along. Neither did she and Jordan, but Kate secretly considered Jordan her friend after the incident in Jordan's apartment after her brain surgery.

"Come in!" said Jordan and Kate tentitively opened the door, closing it behind her.

Jordan put down her cell phone and sighed. "Kate. Hi. What's up?" she asked suspiciously. Kate shrugged.

"I dunno. I guess I just thought we could talk..."

"Err, okay. About what?"

"You see, I've sort of got this little problem... and I don't want to talk about it with one of the guys..." Kate hated being so vulnerable. It was horrible. She always wanted to be strong and independent.

Jordan noticed how vulnerable she sounded. Never before had she heard Kate like that. She didn't know what to do, so she motioned toward her couch. "Sure. Girl talk. I know the feeling. Before Lily and I were friends, the closest I got to girl talk I got was with Garret."

Kate snicked. "You had 'girl talk' with Dr. Macy?"

"Yeah. He was my bestest girlfriend for a while. Until Lily and I became friends, and you started working here." Kate smiled genuinely. So Jordan did consider her a friend.

They sat down on the couch, and Kate refused to look at Jordan. Jordan didn't find this odd; when she was about to tell someone something private, she couldn't look who she was telling in the eye either.

"I think I'm pregnant," she blurted, then looked up at the ceiling. Jordan's jaw dropped. Whatever she had been expecting, that wasn't it. It wasn't even on the list of things she thought Kate might want to talk about.

"Wow," said Jordan. "I'm guessing this was unplanned?" Kate nodded slowly.

"I'm on the pill. It shouldn't of happened. But it did."

"How? It's supposed to be ninety-nine per cent—"

"The antibiotics," Kate cut in, finally looking at her friend, "From when we were poisoned. They made all long-term meds stop working... I didn't even think to mention I was taking birth control..." Jordan couldn't believe this. She didn't know what to say.

"Who's...?"

"That father?" finished Kate. She sighed. "You really want to know?" Jordan was curious, but she didn't want to pressure her.

"Only if you want to tell me," she said, lying. She was dying to know. She didn't even know Kate was seeing anyone.

A thought struck her. Nigel had a new girlfriend. What if Kate had gotten jealous and found someone just to mess with his head? What if she didn't even care for whoever the father was? That would be the worst thing.

"It's..." started Kate, but her throat caught. She took a deep breath and murmured something so quietly Jordan didn't hear her.

"What?"

"It's Nigel," she whispered, and Jordan's eyes widened. "And I don't know what to tell him. Maybe I shouldn't."

"He's going to notice when you..." Jordan motioned toward Kate's stomach. Kate shrugged, tears coming to her eyes, but not falling.

"Not if I don't." Jordan's mouth went dry.

"Kate, you aren't seriously considering..."

"Abortion?" Kate let out a hollow laugh. "No, of course not. I've wanted to be a mother since I was twelve. I meant..."

"You want to leave?" interrupted Jordan. It was the only other way Nigel wouldn't notice. Kate shook her head again.

"No. Just... listen for a second, okay?" Jordan nodded, drew her fingers in her lips like she was doing up a zipper, then tossed an imaginary key over her shoulder. Kate smiled weakly.

"The thing is... I mean, the worst part isn't that I'm pregnant," she explained, "It's that I'm pregnant... but I'm not going to have a baby." Jordan opened her mouth to say something, then remembered her silent promise and closed it again. No interrupting. "I've been pregnant before."

Kate pinched the bridge of her nose and leaned forward putting her elbows on her knees, "I've had five miscarriages."

Jordan couldn't help he exclamation of, "Oh, _Kate_...!" and the look of complete shock and pity on her face. A single tear rolled down Kate's cheek.

"My doctor told me after the last one... that it wasn't worth trying again. I can't have a baby. It's physically impossible for me, for some reason. I'm just going to miscarry again. Every single time has been hard on me... but I think it would just about kill Nigel. You know how he is." Kate threw up her hands in defeat.

Jordan didn't know what to say. If she had been surprised when Kate said she might be pregnant, it was nothing compared to how shocked she was now. Everything made sense! Kate's detached behaviour at work, the sad look in her eyes that everyone saw but no one said anything about, why she had that cold, 

tough exterior... after that much loss... five miscarriages... it was no wonder Kate was how she was.

"Yeah," said Jordan, recovering from the shock, "But I think he'd be even worse off if you didn't tell him." Kate groaned and leaned back on Jordan's couch, putting her face in her hands.

"But if I tell him... it'll crush him! You know how much he wants to be a dad. I wish I could give him that," she said wistfully, and Jordan gave her an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, Kate. About... about everything."

"It's not like you can do anything about it. I'm a doctor, and I can't do anything about it. It's why I _became_ a doctor." She moved her hands off her face and saw Jordan's confused look.

"I got pregnant the first time when I was nineteen," she explained. "I really wanted that baby. I wanted it so bad. Then I lost her." She swallowed, hard, then continued. "I decided that after college I would go to med school. Learn everything I could on the matter, see if there was a way to stop it happening again.

"The second time I got pregnant I was in med school. Twenty-three years old. It was the reason my first fiancé proposed. I did everything I could to keep the baby healthy. Then my dad ruined my wedding. I think it was the stress that did it that time.

"The other three... each with a different father. Two were unplanned, one was unplanned by the father." She smiled guiltily. "He didn't want a baby, I did. He was relieved when I miscarried. I figured out I didn't love him that way. The other two broke when I miscarried. We couldn't stay together after that."

She shrugged. "Two years after that last one, the one I planned, I moved here. And now it's happened again." She couldn't stop the tears that fell down her cheeks.

"Every time I have something good— I make friends, I feel at home, I fall in love..." She gestured around the room, as if to tell Jordan she had all that in Boston. "I always ruin it. I get pregnant, and it ruins everything. I've learned to deal with it, but every times it happens... it breaks the people I know. Especially the father."

Jordan put her arms around her friend, who accepted the hug thankfully, crying into Jordan's shoulder. "I always ruin _everything_."

"It's not your fault, Kate," said Jordan, trying to be soothing. She had no idea if it was working. "It was never your fault. It was theirs for not loving you enough to help you through it. It'll be different this time. You know how much we all care for each other; how much we care about _you_." Kate let go of her friend and looked into Jordan's honey-coloured eyes.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because we're a family," said Jordan, "And families can make it through anything."

XXX

Woody sat down on the curb to take a break from his pacing. It was almost dark out, and he hadn't seen a sign of Max yet. Maybe Nigel had been wrong, maybe there really was a guy name Maxwell Fosnaugh who knew Jordan and put her in his will...

...or maybe not. There was a car coming down the street with a very distincive licence plate. 'EVIDNCE'. And the man behind the wheel was defidenlty Max Cavanaugh. Woody quickly stood and watched as Max parked his car across the street, feeding multiple quarters into the parking meter.

It was Max; same white-haired Irish man that he had known a few years ago... so why was he so nervous to approach him. He took a deep breath. He had to ask, or Jordan would never be his wife, even if she wanted to be.

"Max!" yelled Woody, bravely, and Max jumped, nearly dropping the quarter he was about to feed the meter. He spun around, instinctively, reaching toward his belt until he saw he had called him.

"Hoyt?" he said, his eyes widening. He pushed the last quarter to the slot and walked across the street, looking furious.

"Max, I need to talk to—" He was cut off by Max's grabbing of his arm and pulling him toward the building.

"Not here," he grunted. "Come inside before someone sees you!"

Woody was pulled into the building and to the stairwell. "Fourth floor. I'll meet you there," said Max, then headed off toward the elevator. Woody sighed and stook his head, then started up the stairs.

Fifty-six stairs later, Woody waited on the fourth floor for Max.

The elevator doors opened, and Max came out, looking uneasy. He beckoned for Woody to follow him, then took out his key and opened on of the doors. Woody followed him inside curiously.

Max slammed the door and gave Woody a stern look. "How did you find me?" he asked, and Woody grinned.

"You put Jordan as the sole beneficiary on your life insurance policy."

"Townsend?"

"Yeah."

Max sighed and sat down on his sofa. "So, what do you want? Am I under arrest?" Woody shook his head.

"No, sir, of course not."

"What have I told you about calling me Max?" said Max, glaring at him. Woody nervously shifted from foot to foot.

"Sorry Max."

"So I'm not under arrest. Why are you here? Jahdan's not in trouble, is she?" Woody grinned.

"No! See, there is this Hoyt family tradition that you must ask the father's permission before... I came to ask you for permission to have your daughters hand." Max raised his eyebrows.

"Seriously?" Woody nodded earnestly.

"Yeah." Max chuckled.

"I thought you'd want all of her." Woody blushed.

"I mean I wanted her hand in—" started Woody, but Max cut him off.

"Marriage. I get that. It was a joke, kid."

"Oh."

"Hoyt, you've had my blessing since your exclamation of 'hot damn!' at the Pogue Mahone." It was Woody's turn to raise his eyebrows.

"Why then?"

"Because I figured out how much you loved her then. Even if at the time you also had the hots for her. Deep down I knew you'd be the one to keep her. Of course you can have Jahdan's hand! If she excepts. Have you asked yet?"

"No."

"Well, when you do, send me an invitation. I'll be there, even if no one sees me." Woody smiled.

"I will."

"Thank you. Now go home to Jahdan."

"Thank you sir! I will," said Woody, turning to go.

As he opened the door to leave, he heard Max shout, "Don't call me sir!" And, laughing, he left the building and drove to his hotel. He had permission. Now, all he had to do was get her to say yes.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Cell Phones, Crying and Blood Tests**

When Woody got back to his hotel, he felt drained. Both physically and emotionally, though there was no reason to be. He flopped down on his bed and almost went to sleep right then and there, before he remembered that he had promised that he would call Jordan before he went to sleep.

Groaning, he sat up and rubbed his hands over his face, not pleased with his way-more-than-five-o'clock-shadow. He grabbed his phone and flipped it open, turning it on.

Jordan had called. Seven times. He sighed. He should have kept his phone on, but he had forgotten after the flight.

He held down the one and waited as it dialed Jordan's cell. She'd still be at work though it was almost nine o'clock, knowing Jordan.

A thought struck him. Almost nine? Geez, he was tired at nine o'clock? What was wrong with him? Was he sick?

The phone rang once, twice, three times. No answer. Four, five six times... Woody hung up. He tried her home, but got her voice-mail.

"Hey, it's Woody..." he started, "The... lead I came to work on turned up empty. I'll come home tomorrow. Tried your cell, but you must have left it somewhere. Love you." The machine beeped.

Sighing, Woody put his phone, badge and gun on the bedside table, pulled off his shirt, shoes and pants and climbed under the covers. He shouldn't be this tired this early. Maybe he was coming down with something.

XXX

Jordan lead Kate to Autopsy, where so got out a needle and instructed Kate to put out her arm.

"I'm sure Jordan, I don't need you to test my blood."

"Do it anyway. You might be freaking out over nothing." After their talk, Jordan thought she should do everything she could to help her friend. And that meant proving she wasn't pregnant, because Jordan wasn't sure she was.

Sighing, Kate stuck out her arm and Jordan took her blood, putting it in a vial. "I'll have Nigel run it—"

"Can't you do it?" asked Kate, a look of horror on her face. "What if he finds out?" Jordan sighed.

"If he asks, I'll act suspicious. Worst comes to worst he'll think _I'm _pregnant." Kate thought about it.

"Just tell him it's a Jane Doe, or something. We don't want him to think you're pregnant, either. What if he tells Woody that you are when you're not?"

"False positive?"

"Jordan!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It'd kill Woody if he thought I was pregnant and it turns out I wasn't. Then again, if I was, he'd probably propose and start a college fund," said Jordan, preparing Kate's blood sample. Kate chuckled.

"He'd probably sign him or her up for little league three days after birth."

"And buy a golden retriever."

"And put up a white picket fence around your house."

"He'd have to get us a house before he did that."

"Like he wouldn't?"

The two laughed about it, naming the things Woody would do if Jordan was pregnant. It took Kate's mind off the inevidable— telling Nigel. She had to do it sometime; Jordan had made sure she knew that, but what she could decided was when. Now? She was about a month along, if her calculations were correct. She always miscarried between eight and twelve weeks. Should she tell him after she lost him or her? No, that would be just plain cruel.

"He'd expect me to be a soccer mom," Jordan joked and Kate forced a smile.

"No, he wouldn't. Woody knows you, remember? You're not soccer mom material." Jordan made a face.

"Says who?"

Kate raised her eyebrows, and Jordan laughed. "Only joking. See you, I've got to get this sample to Nige," said Jordan and Kate nodded as Jordan left autopsy.

She found herself alone. It was cold in autopsy, not as cold as the crypt, but cold enough. She never noticed it. She had never been alone in this room before. 

Technically, she had, but she'd always had someone to talk to; whether it be a live person or a dead one. She'd never been _alone _before.

She walked to a bare wall and sat down against it, leaning her neck back and resting her head on the wall. It was cold, bare, empty. Exactly how she had felt when she found out she was pregnant again. It didn't make sense, that empty feeling she got. Because, technically, she wasn't alone. She had the tiny life inside her to keep her company.

But that feeling of utter loneliness didn't go away when she realised this fact. It just made it increase. She wanted a baby so badly. She had always wanted a baby. But it wasn't possible. She killed them all. It was her fault. There was something wrong with her.

She closed her eyes and sighed. Maybe it was God's way of telling her she wasn't ready. That she'd never _be_ ready. Or that she'd just be a horrible mom. But drug addicts got pregnant; losers got pregnant; so why couldn't she have a baby, too? What horrible sin had she done to deserve this punishment?

A tear escaped her eye and ran down her cheeck. It was a good thing she didn't wear much make-up, or else someone might have noticed she had been crying a lot lately. And she _never _cried. They would notice if suddenly she burst into tears at the slightest of things. Maddie's crying, someone mentioning a baby; anything could send her over the edge. She blamed it on the hormones, but it was probably too early in the pregnancy for them to have this effect on her.

It wasn't the hormones, it was her. She was just so lonely. No one noticed, but she was. Every time she got something good, like she had in Boston, she went and ruined it. No matter how hard she tried not to get involved with her coworkers, it always happened. No matter how hard she tried not to fall for some goofy, quirky guy, it happened anyway. No matter how much she didn't want to get pregnant again and have to go through that heartbreak another time, it happened. There was just no way to stop fate.

XXX

Jordan walked into Trace and spotted Nigel right away, working on a fingerprint from one of Bug's cases.

"Hey," she said casually. Nigel looked up.

"Jordan! How are you, Love? Seems like we haven't talked in ages." Jordan smiled.

"I'm good. Listen, you think you could run this through the mass spectrometer?" She held out a vial of blood. Nigel smiled and took it.

"Sure, Love. Who's blood is it?"

"It's a friend of mine's. She's not dead," she said as Nigel put on his sympathetic look. "Just down run it through any databases or anything. Just put it in the mass spec. and run tox for me."

"Uh, sure," said Nigel, rolling his chair over to the mass spectrometer. "What do you want me to look for?"

"Nothing specifically. Just give me the results when they're done." She left Trace and headed to her office, leaving a slightly confused criminalist putting a blood sample in the mass spetrometer.

XXX

Jordan went to her office and sat down at her desk, spotting her cell phone on it. She picked it up, intending to call Woody again, when she saw that it was flashing 'missed call'. She flipped it open and check the caller ID. Hoyt. Woody had called her, and she had missed it.

They had to stop this high-tech game of hide-and-seek. She needed to talk to him. To tell him about their breakthrough with the case. That Cal might be involved. That he might be in trouble. That they had IDs on the victims. That the print was Albie Sampson's. That she missed him.

Sighing, she held down the three, hoping he would pick up. It didn't even ring. She got the 'out-of-service' warning. Either his phone had been destroyed, or it was underground, or he had forgotten to charge it and the batter was dead. Jordan thought it was probably the latter.

With another sigh Jordan tossed her phone back onto her desk and grabbed a pen and some more of her paperwork. She hated paperwork. She wanted to be out chasing Albie Sampson with Woody, but he was in New York. She hated paperwork.

XXX

Garret was almost done. Almost. He had two more pieces of paperwork to fill out. A death certificate, and whatever was under it in the file. He flexed hif cramped fingers then picked up his pen again, signing the death certificate. One more.

He picked up the last file and groaned. He knew he had forgotten something. He had to stand up and bring this to the Bullroom. Great, just what he needed.

Slowly, he got up and stretched his tired back muscles. Doing his dreaded paperwork all day could have serious effects on your health, apparently.

He went to the Bullroom and smiled. Bug was sitting at his desk, which was next to Nigel's, and Adriana's desk was set up in the corner not too far away. She had a cardboard box out, and she was busy putting away her things. Moving in. She was going to be a great addition to the team, whether Jordan thought so or not.

He knocked on the bug-covered glass and both of him employees stopped what they were doing to look up at him. "Yes, Dr. Macy?" asked Adriana quickly, putting down the grasshopper paperweight she had been holding.

"I forgot to have you fill this out," he said, walking into the Bullroom and offering her the paperwork. Adriana took it and looked it over.

"Just the regular infromation on a formal... form so Emmy can have it on file." Adriana smiled.

"Okay." He turned to go and walked out when Adriana stopped him.

"Uh, Dr. Macy?" He stopped and turned to face her.

"Yes?"

"Do I have to put my full name?" she asked, referring to the first line, which clearly stated 'first name, please print'.

"Uh, yeah?"

"What if it doesn't fit?"she asked, and Bug snickered.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, my full name is rather long..."

"It's longer than mine," Bug put in and Adriana glared at him, and Garret raised an eyebrow. Longer than Bug's? Was it possible?

"By one letter!"

"'Adriana Rodriguez' isn't longer than 'Mahesh Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy'," said Garret, mentally counting letters.

"No, but 'Adriana Marisol Elizabeth Jamison Elaina Rodriguez' is longer than 'Mahesh Pravin Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy'," she explained, "That's why I was asking— I mean, do I have to write my middle names? My family has this thing 

about naming the first born boy and first born girl after all of their grandparents and great-grandparents that'll fit on the birth certificate."

Garret's eyebrows stayed raised. "Just... write small," he said with a chuckle, then left. Adriana groaned and sat down in her new desk chair, putting down the form.

"You know, it hurts your fingers to write a name that long," she complained, and Bug agreed. Having a long name sucked.

XXX

Emmy signed for the mail, and quickly looked through it. There was one envelope that stood out; addressed directly to 'Garret Macy' rather than the Morgue itself, or 'Dr. Macy'. She pulled it from the pile and took a better look, surprised when she saw it from the DNA lab in North Boston.

She went to his office and knocked, and he looked up from the novel he was reading. "Dr. Macy," she said, offering him his mail, "Here's your mail. You got a letter from the DNA lab in North Boston."

He nodded and took his mail, turning it over in his hands. When he didn't offer any insite as to why they were mailing him she left. She didn't want to seem nosey, though truthfuly it was rather strange. The DNA lab in North Boston was where civilians requested paternity tests. Perhaps Dr. Macy was having doubts about Abby being his daughter?

Emmy shook her head and told herself to forget it. She was never going to know why Dr. Macy had gotten a letter from the DNA lab, and that was that. And besides, Abby had a strong resemblence to her father. It was doubtful that they weren't related.

Shaking her head, she went to answer the phone in the lobby. Best not to get too curious. Curiosity killed the cat.

XXX

After Emmy left his office, Garret simply sat and stared at the letter. Now was the moment of truth. Should he open it? Tell Renee? Hand it to Renee and tell her to open it if she was sure that Eddie was the father? Ask Renee if he should? Throw it out and forget about it?

That last one was a stretch. He had to know, one way or another. He supposed Renee should be there when he opened it, so if he was Michael's father, she could explain why she had kept it from him. Or maybe she hadn't known.

Garret sighed and dropped the envelope, putting his face in his hands. What he needed was two fingers of scotch on the rocks, but he had given up drinking.

He might as well go home and deal with it in her morning. It would be eating him all night, of course, and he probably wouldn't get the good night's rest he needed, but it would have to be good enough.

Until tomorrow, when the world changed. When would give Renee the envelope. When Woody would return, and Jordan would fill him in on her case, which might very well involved his kid brother. When Adriana started working at the Morgue full time. Until tomorrow.


	30. Chapter 30

_To Amelia— I think I'll take your suggestion and use my little sub-sub-plot as an excuse for fluff. :) If I can make fluff that can take place when the objects of my fluff are in different states (Jordan in MA and Woody in NY). I can try. :D_

_And to people who are worried— Woody isn't seriously ill; he has a bad cold, that's all. Something to keep him in New York for the time being. :)_

_Okay, sorry this is a short chapter— I ran out of ideas. Also, I'll be starting school Tuesday, so, depending how much my homework load is, my updates might be slower. :( Sorry guys._

**Chapter Thirty: Positive**

Renee walked into the Morgue smiling. Michael was feeling better, and he babysitter had agreed to take him again, so she could come back to work. It wasn't a regular occurrence at work, her smile, so more than a few people raised their eyebrows when she walked into the Morgue in search of Garret to tell him the good news.

She knocked on the door frame to his office and he looked up from his novel, not smiling. She frowned a little.

"What's wrong?"

He didn't say anything, he just picked up the envelope on his desk and held it out to her. She took it and flipped it over, reading the front.

"The DNA lab in North Boston? Why are they writing you?" she asked suspiciously, then she remembered that he had swabbed her son, "Garret!" He shrugged.

"Don't you think it's a little suspicious, Renee? You can't get pregnant after five years with Eddie, then you have one night together and get knocked up? I saw the picture of him with Michael— they look nothing a like! You had to have noticed!"

"I—"

"Are you going to tell me that there is no chance, whatsoever, that Michael shares half my DNA? 'Cause if you are, then you're a load of crap! There was always the chance! You should have gotten one of these _years _before now!"

Renee frowned and looked down at the envelope. "You didn't open it," she stated, and he nodded. "Why not?"

"I thought you should know the results," he said simply, leaning back in his chair. "He is your son, after all. I have no idea who else's, but he is yours." Renee glared at him.

"I really thought he was Eddie's..."

"Until?" prompted Garret, which earned him another glare.

"Until he started looking like your daughter." She sat down in the chair opposite him, putting the letter in her lap. "I'm sorry, Garret."

Garret motioned toward the envelope. "Are you going to open it?" She picked it up and sighed.

"I'm pretty sure I already know what it says."

"'Pretty sure' isn't the same are 'sure', Renee. I want to know. I need to know." The pleading look in his eyes was enough for her to use her fingernail and rip open the top of the envelope, and pull the letter out.

She unfolded it, and Garret watched her eyes scan the page. Her face stayed expressionless as she read the result. Garret didn't know what to make of that. A good thing, a bad thing? Renee could be hard to read.

She sat up a little straighter and folded the paper back up, putting it on his desk.

"Well?" he asked impatiently. She cast her eyes downward.

He snatched up the discarded letter and nearly yanked it open, reading the first few lines.

"Positive," he whispered.

XXX

Kate pulled on a pair of latex gloves and put her hair up. She was due in Trace to examine a John Doe found in an alley way, a homeless guy. He had an unkown substance on his fingers, and she had to go collect it.

"Kate! Have you seen Jordan?" Nigel asked cheerful when she walked into Trace.

"Uh, no. She's not here yet. Why?" she asked casually, knowing full well why. He had her test results back.

"I have her test results on a blood sample she gave me," he said, confirming this, "Funny. Whoever this blood belongs to is pregnant." Kate sighed. She knew that was coming.

"Really? Huh. I'll make sure to tell her to see you if I see her," she mumbled, then went and unzipped the body-bag that held her John Doe.

At least now she as positive that she was pregnant. All that meant, though, was that she still had to tell Nigel. Break him. She sighed and started her examination. At least now she was positive.

XXX

"He didn't meet Calvin yesterday," said Mikhail, flopping down on his hotel bed. "He is in the next room over. Vee are taking shifts to vatch for him."

"_Why was he in front of that building if he wasn't meeting Calvin?_" asked Albie angrily.

"Vee don't know, sir. He met some old man and they vent inside. He cam out, alone, and vent straight back to his hotel room." Albie sighed.

"_Who was the old man?_"

"I got Sergei to look him up— Maxwell Fosnaugh, mid-sixties, clean record. Except, get this; he didn't exist before 2004."

"_What do you mean, 'didn't exsit'?_" asked Albie, sighing.

"I mean, he didn't exisit. No drivers licence, no place of residence, no nothing. He just appeared out of nowhere. Vee vere thinking he vas in the vitness protection program," explained Mikhail.

"_An informant, perhaps? Maybe Calvin is not in New York as you suspected. Maybe Hoyt had to see a witness protection project for some reason to do with the BPD. Keep a tail on his, just in case, but I think your assumptions were wrong._"

"Aye, sir."

"_And stay under cover. You don't want him to think he is being followed._"

"Vee vill, sir." Albie hung up, and Mikhail closed his own phone. His two colleagues looked at him.

"Vell?" asked Pavel, "Vhat do vee do?"

"Vee keep tailing Voody, and keep an eye out of Calvin."

"But he didn't meet Calvin!" protested Sergei.

"Shut up! Vee vill do vhat Albie vants us to do! Do you value your life?" Sergei nodded unhappily. "Then vee follow Voody and stay under cover."

"But vhat if vee vere wrong?" asked Pavel, "Vhat is Voody isn't here to see Calvin?"

"Then vee're dead," said Mikhail simply, and the other two gulped. They had better be right.

XXX

Meanwhile, in the next room over, Woody was feeling like crap. He had a monster headache, he was congested, he had a cough and his throat was on fire. He must have caught something on the plane, or just before he left Boston.

She rolled onto his stomach and pulled his pillow over his head. He'd probably already missed his plane... not that he felt like going on one, now. He should probably call Jordan and tell her he wouldn't be home as soon as he thought he would be.

Reaching out blindly, he groped for his phone and, after a minute, rapped his fingers around it. He pulled it under the pillow and lifted his head a little so he could look at it without exposing himself to the painful sunlight streaming through his window. He flipped it open and groaned; his battery was dead.

So he had to get up. He closed his eyes and pulled the pillow off his head, letting it tumbled to the floor of his hotel room. He stood, eyes still closed, and felt his way to the left side of the bed. He put his feet down and got up, then felt his way toward the curtains. He needed to close them.

He reached out and tangled his fingers in the dark fabric, pulling them shut and blocking out the light. He opened his eye experimentally, and it, luckily, it was dark enough that doing so didn't aggravate his headache.

He sighed happily. That was one thing accomplished. Now, what else did he need to do? He looked around his hotel room, then saw the phone. Right. He had to call and say he would be late coming home.

He walked over to the chez and table, sitting down and grabbing the receiver. He dialed Jordan's home number quickly, and waited as it rung. And waited, and waited, and waited...

XXX

Jordan groaned and hugged her pillow to her chest. Her landline was ringing. Dammit. That meant she had to wake up. She didn't want to wake up.

She'd had a late night at the morgue, and had stayed up watching the Discovery channel because she was sick with worry over Woody and Cal. She wasn't really worried about Woody, of course, except from the normal girlfriend-of-a-cop worries. She was mostly just worried about Cal. Where was he? Was he okay? _Alive_? Was Albie hunting him? Was he in hiding? Had he gone underground?

Needless to say, she hadn't got much rest.

_Ring! _"Yeah, yeah. I'm comin'," mumbled Jordan sleepily, getting out of bed and walking into the living room, on her way to the kitchen.

_Ring! _"I said I was coming!" she yelled to no one, walking over to her counter. Empty phone bed. No phone. Where had she put it?

_Ring! _The ringing got louder when she went towards the couch. She checked on all her surfaces, tried listening for it— but it was no where in sight.

Jordan let out a frustrated noise. Just her luck, this would be Woody calling with the hotel phone and she couldn't answer. And she'd left her phone on her desk at the morgue. "Ugh!" she almost whined, still looking for her stupid phone.

Suddenly it stopped ringing. She sighed loudly. Just her luck.

It was then, of course, that she potted her phone— wedged between sofa cushions. "Excellent timing," she growled, grabbing it and sticking it back into the phone bed on the counter. "Just excellent!" Her sarcastic voice cut through the silence like a knife.

She sighed again, then went to get dressed. She might as well go to work. It's not like she had anything better to do


	31. Chapter 31

_Ugh, school gets in the way of my writing on time. :( Sorry about the slow update. And this is my best attempt at "phone-fluff", if you can believe it. I'm tired and my brain is on fire, so it'll have to do. Plus the rest is probably awful too... but i'm too tired to care. It'll get better, hopefully._

**Chapter Thirty-One: A Talk or Two**

Jordan was sitting at her desk, staring at the result Nigel had handed her. Kate _was_ pregnant.

Not only that, but Woody (if it had been him) hadn't tried to call again. She _needed_ to talk to him! He'd missed so much since he was in new York. Jordan wished he would just come back to Boston soon.

There was a knock on her office door, and Adriana popped her head in. "Dr. Cavanaugh?" she asked shyly and Jordan looked up at the younger ME.

"Hm?"

"Have you seen Mahesh? We were supposed to have lunch, but I can't find him anywhere..." Jordan shook her head.

"No, sorry. You might want to ask Lily."

"The grief counsellor? What's she look like? I haven't met her yet," she admitted and Jordan sighed.

"Pretty redhead, blue eyes, five six or five seven—you'll know her because Bug follows her everywhere." Adriana smiled and nodded then left in search of Bug, closing Jordan's office door behind her.

Jordan sighed again. "Come on," she said, picking up her cell phone. "Call!"

_Ring! _Jordan smiled. Lucky timing. She quickly flipped open her phone and put it to her ear.

"Woody!"

"_Hi Jodan_," greeted Woody, his voice congested from his cold. "_I camp fly back to Boston tonigh' because I gob a weally bad colb_," he explained, and Jordan's eyes widened.

"You're sick? Do you need me to fly down there? Are you going to be alright by yours—"

"_I'm fine Jodan! I jus' camp come home as soon as I wanbed boo._"

"You sound like you need a steam room," she observed, smiling, "Is your throat sore, too?"

"_Maybe._"

"You need to go to the drugstore and get yourself some pseudoephedrine, and probably some throat lozenges... ibuprofin is a must, and you might want to get yourself—"

"_Jodan._"

"—and maybe some—"

"_Jodan._"

"What?!"

"_I'm fine. Don'b worry abou' me. Ib's just a colb. Headache, runny nose, sore throat. Ib'll be gone by bomorrow._"

"Right. Sorry," she said, then remembered why she had been so desperate to get a hold of him. "Woody, you know our double homicide from the basement?" she asked.

"_Uh-huh._"

"Nigel got IDs. Jackson Webb and Mitchel Perry." There was a sharp intake of breath on Woody's side of the phone.

"_I thoughb they looked familiar. Kewaunee._"

"Yeah. Woody, there's something else you should know..."

"_Uh-huh?_"

"They were camping together."

"_Anb?_"

"Calvin was with them," she mumbled, and she heard his second sharp intake of breath that morning. The silence on the other end prompted her to continue. "The fingerprint came back, too. Albie Sampson."

"_Dammit!_" he exclaimed, and there was a _bang!_ as though he had hit a table or stomped his foot down, hard.

"He might still be okay. I haven't been able to contact him— but he might still be okay." Her voice was shaking more then than it had when she had found out. Telling him had to be the hardest part, and she knew it. But it had to be done.

"_If I was feeling bebter I woulb be on the first plane back boo Boston, but I feel like crap anb woulb really rather to just sleep for booday..._" Jordan sighed.

"You rest, Woody. I'll do what I can until you come home, but for now... just rest. You wouldn't be much help here, anyway, in your condition. You need a bowl of chicken soup and a comfortable bed, not police leg work," said Jordan, trying to convince him to sleep, even thbough she knew if it were her, she'd already be booking a flight. "I'll take care of everything."

"_Nob that I don'b apriciate ib, Jodan, but you are nob a cop. Leb a detective hanble ib. I'm sick, so they'll aissign someone else— ask for Seely._"

"Seely?" asked Jordan increduisly, her eyebrows skyrocketing. Woody must be more doped up on flu meds than he had let on. "Are you serious?"

"_Yes. He's a good guy, whether he wanbs boo show ib or nob._" Jordan snorted. Seely? A 'good guy, wether he wants to show it or not'? That was laughable. He had the sensitivity of a lizard, like Lily had said, in her opinion. But she trusted his judgement, impaired my God-awful cold or not, so she agreed.

"Hey, Seely?" Jordan said onto her phone some time later, "Want an interesting case?"

"Mahesh?" Adriana poked her head around the corner into the computer lab. Nigel was there, doing who-know-what with some audio file. He glanced up on her.

"Haven't seen him, Love," he said, then went back to his work. She sighed and left, heading toward the Bullroom again.

"Hesh?" Nope not there, either. Where was he?

She turned to leave the Bullroom and bumped into a redhead. "Hi," said Adriana, thinking this might be the grief counsellor that Dr. Cavanaugh had mentioned.

"Oh, hi. Adriana, right?" Lily smiled. "What are you doing?"

"Uh, yeah. Looking for Hesh, actually. Have _you_ seen him?" Lily shook her head.

"Have you seen a bug around?" Adriana raised her eyebrows to her question.

"There was a spider in the corner of the crypt earlier, though technically that's an arachnid. Why?"

"That's where you'll find him," explained Lily. "He's probably trying to catch it so he can dissect it. Then again, he might want to keep it as a pet for Maddie." She chuckled then left, leaving Adriana alone with her head tilted to one side in partial confusion. 'Keep it as a pet for Maddie'? What was that supposed to mean, anyway?

She shook her head and trotted off toward the crypt in search of her old babysitter. They were supposed to be having lunch to catch up, but at this rate they wouldn't have a lunch break to catch up in.

"Hesh?" asked Adriana, looking into the crypt. Of course, there he was, on his knees and holding a magnifying glass.

"Hey, Adriana! Look at this—"

"I know there's a spider," she said impatiently, "Aren't you forgetting something?" He looked up at her, confusing lining his features. "Lunch?"

Comprehension dawned on his face. "Oh... oops," he mumbled forgetting about the spider and getting up.

"Yeah, 'oops'. We still have time. Wanna go now?" she asked brightly, and he looked at his watch.

"I would, but I have to get off in half an hour anyway to pick up Maddie..."

Again with that 'Maddie' person. Who was she? "Who's Maddie?" asked Adriana, and Bug raised his eyebrows.

"My... step-daughter." Normally he would have said daughter, but she didn't know about Maddie not being genetically his, and it would take longer the explain that way. Adriana's eyes widened.

"You have a daughter and you didn't think to mention it?" she half-yelled. "Geez, Hesh, you are still a space case." He blushed.

"Sorry..." Adriana sighed.

"We still have half an hour," she said, "Why don't you tell me about her." Bug grinned.

"I'd love to."

"So, what's this interesting case?" asked Matt, leaning on Jordan's door frame. Jordan looked up and opened up the case file.

She explained the casse to him, and he sat down on her couch to listen. She told him about Albie's last 'visit' with her and the Hoyt brothers, and how they had found his bloody print at the scene. She gave him the autopsy reports, and Mrs. Webb's statement.

"So Calvin Hoyt is MIA?" asked Matt, and Jordan nodded. "And Woody seriously took himself off the case?" He seem incredulous.

"Well... yes." He snickered.

"If one of my brothers were missing, I'd be off chasing clue and bad guys. You're seriously telling me he has a cold, so he's holed up in a hotel in New York City and just handed off the case?"

"Yes."

"Hoyt really has gone off the deep-end," he muttered, then turned to Jordan. "You're right about it being interesting, though. I believe I could be of some assistance to you."

Jordan frowned. "Okay."

"But remember, _I'm_ in charge." Jordan rolled her eyes. Of course he was.

"Whatever, Seely. Let's just find Albie and Cal."

"Okay, but seriously, I. Am. In. Charge." Jordan nodded. If he helped her find Cal, she didn't care if he thought he was in charge. For now.


	32. Chapter 32

_Some of my little-kid-talk might be slightly hard to understand... so here's the translation: fank-ooh - thank you, awe - are, wha' - what (wha's - what's), Gawet - Garret, mush - much, bestest - best, errwee - early, weally - really, doctaw - doctor. I hope that helps. :)_

_School work is hectic, but I try to find time to update. So here it is. _

**Chapter Thirty-Two: Just a Little Chat**

"Michael?" Renee opened the door and stepped into her apartment, and Garret followed cautiously. He hadn't said a single word since he had read the letter, but Renee had agreed (with herself, apparently, because he hadn't actually asked) that they needed to tell Michael the truth, whether he would fully understand it or not. Garret had responded to any question she had asked with a nod or a shake of his head, but hadn't actually made a sound. But as far as he could tell, she hadn't noticed.

There was a _thump!_and the sound of socked feet running down the hall. "Mommy!" squealed a delighted three-year-old, flinging his arms around his mother's legs. A discruntled young woman followed him out of his bedroom, looking very surprised.

"Ms. Walcott," said the young woman, "I... wasn't expecting you home until four." Renee smiled.

"Louise, this is Garret," said Renee motioning toward Garret offhandedly. "He's..." She stopped, unsure of what to tell her baby sitter. She looked from her ex to her son, then bent down to his level.

"Mikey, could you please go play in your room for a minute while I talk to the grown-ups?" Michael looked at his mother curiously for a moment, then smiled.

"Okay-dokey Mommy," he said, then trotted off toward his bedroom. Renee straighted and looked at Louise, who looked curious herself.

"What is so important that we can't talk in front of him?" she questioned, and Renee sighed.

"I had a paternity test done," said Renee, as if the whole thing had been her idea. Louise blinked a few times to get over the bluntness of the statement. It wasn't somthing one heard every day.

"And...?" she asked, looking toward Garret suspicously. Her eyes widened with realisation before Renee even tolf her.

"And Eddie isn't Michael's father," said Renee. Louise opened her mouth, then closed it again, shocked. "Garret is." Garret stayed quiet. He was never good in awkward situations like this.

Louise just stared at Renee as if she ad three heads for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Wow," she finally uttered, "What... what are you going to tell Eddie?" Renee closed her eyes briefly, thinking.

"I don't know," she said truthfully, "The truth, I guess. What I'm really worried about is how I'm going to tell Michael." Louise looked from Garret to the picture of Michael and Eddie at the zoo, obviously seeing the same resemblance issues that Garret had.

"Will he even understand if you do tell him?" Louise wondered aloud. Renee smiled.

"He's a bright kid, so I think he'll understand. But he might not want to. He's grown up for three years thinking Eddie is his dad— it might take him a while to except that he's not."

Garret still hadn't said a word. Truthfully, he was still in shock. He was a dad again. Though he had already been through it with Abby, he still felt almost frightened at the prospect at doing it all over again. And with a little boy, no less. With a little boy who had only met him for the first time a few days ago.

Renee and Louise stopped talking abruptly when they heard Michael's sock feet running down the hallway again. He appeared in the foyer, holding a piece of drawing paper.

"Mommy, look wha' I drew!" he said excitedly, holding up a picture of two stick people. One was tiny and had a mop of brown-crayon coloured hair, the other taller with longer hair and a skirt drawn on. It was very good for a three-year-old. When Abby had been three she was still scribbling, and nothing she drew was recognizable. His was obviously he and his mother.

"Is that me and you?" asked Renee with a smile, bending down to take a better look at the picture. "You're a very good drawer."

"Fank-ooh," murmured Michael, whistling a little passed a gap in his teeth. "Hi Gawet!" Garret raised his eyebrows. He remembered his name? He was a smart kid.

"Hey Kiddo," said Garret, "How are you feeling?" Michael grinned.

"Mush better," he said happily. "Fank-ooh for making me better. You awe the bestest vet ever!" Michael reached outh and wrapped his arms around Garret's legs. Garret, startled, didn't know how to react.

"Uh," he said, "Well, thank you." Michael let go of Garret's legs and turned back to his mother. "Why awe you back errwee Mommy?"

"Well, you see, Michael..." started Renee. She was unsure of how to tell him that his father wasn't really his father. Louise muttered something about cleaning up Michael's toys and wandered off, leaving the 'family' to work things out. Garret felt out of place, whilst Michael still looked confused.

"Wha's wrong, Mommy?" he asked, eyes wide. She sighed and sat down on her sofa, and he climbed up into her lap.

"I made a mistake," said Renee, and Michael grinned.

"Mommy don't make mistakes," he said. Renee smiled, and put her arms around her son.

"Even Mommy makes mistakes sometimes." Michael frowned.

"Wha' was Mommy's mistake?"

"Your father isn't... he isn't your father," said Renee simply, hoping to God that he would understand and she wouldn't have to explain where babies come from to a three-year-old.

"He's not?" asked Michael, wide-eyed and teary looking. "Why not?"

"Because he isn't." Michael sniffled.

"So I don't have a Daddy anymore?" He looked so sad. The one thing he looked forward to was doing father-son stuff with his dad once a fortnight.

"Of course you do," said Renee soothingly, rubbing a hand up and down his back, "Eddie just isn't him." Michael looked up at her curiously.

"Then who is he?" he asked, giving her his best puppy-dog eyes. It was the one thing that made her melt and do anything for him or tell him what he wanted to know, and he knew it.

Renee looked up at Garret, and Michael followed her gaze. His eyes widened, and he quickly looked between his mother and Garret. "Is Gawet my Daddy?" he asked, looking almost hopefl. Renee looked and Garret, and he nodded slowly, giving her the go-ahead.

"Yes," said Renee confidently, "Garret is your Daddy."

XXX

"Hey," said Nigel, putting his arms around Kate's waist and putting his chin on her shoulder. "When do you get off?" Kate pulled the last stitch in her heart-attack victim tight and cut the string.

"In a minute," she said quietly. Pulling off her latex gloves and tossing them across the room into the trashcan. She turned around and took his hands off her waist.

"Listen, Nigel. We... we need to talk." Her throat all of a sudden felt very tight, as if she couldn't breathe. Nigel looked shocked at her suggestion.

"But, Kate," he said, his voice cracking, "I mean, everything's going so good—" Kate smiled mirthlessly.

"It's not what you think. We're not breaking up. I just want to talk, that's all," said Kate after she realised he thought she was breaking up with him. "Just not here. My place?" Nigel nodded, grinning once he realised that he wasn't girlfriend-less.

"Sure. Let's go."

XXX

Nigel pulled his bike into her driveway and dismounted, offering her his hand. She took it and helped herself off, resusing to catch his gaze. What was up with her?

Though he trusted her enough to know that she wasn't going to dump him, he still felt aprehensive about whatever she wanted to talk about. So far, how this was going made him think whatever it was was serious. Very serious, he reckoned, as she wouldn't look into his eyes as they walked up her drive and she unlocked her door.

Nigel put down their helmets on the counter and took off his jacket, hung it up. His chest felt tight, constricted. He had a feeling that whatever Kate wanted to talk about was going to make him either very sad, or very angry. Maybe both.

She sat down on her couch, and he followed, doing the same. He put a hand on her knee, and she put her hand on his hand, squeezing it gently.

"Nigel..." she started, but her voice caught. Why was this so hard? She swallowed past the lump. She had to tell him. Get it over with. She had to tell him. Flat out, no dawdling around. "I'm pregnant."


	33. Chapter 33

_I know nothing of pregnancies (well, durrh, I'm a teenager) so I probably have some information wrong in this chapter, and maybe ones to follow. If it doesn't make sense at all, tell me and I'll try to fix it._

_The most awesome thing about little kids, (four and under, I mean), is that they'll take anything at face value or with a grain of salt. Seriously, you tell a three-year-old something completely stupid, and they'll exept it without a second thought. The good thing about this is that when you need to tell them something potentially life-changing (like that their father isn't their father), they usually won't put up too much fuss about it. I was told when I was four by my older sister (who was eight at the time) that the world would blow up in 2012, and I was just like, "Cool! I'll get to see an explosion!" and skipped off to play soccer with my next-door neighbour._

_More little-kid-talk; ser'ously – seriously. Though that may have been obvious. :)_

_Anyway, here's the next chapter. I tried to get it up as fast as I could..._

**Chapter Thirty-Three: Moments, Promises and Hidden Identities**

Nigel didn't know what to think. He didn't know how to feel. He was so surprised at her statement, that for a moment, if only a moment, his mind was just... blank. Not a single thought passed through his usually very busy, almost highway traffic-like mind. The world was quiet. If only for a moment.

Then he kicked back into over-drive, thoughts swirling around like fish in a pond. Pregnant. Baby. Family. Nigel stood, and for a minute Kate thought he was going to turn around and leave. Instead he turned to face her and did what he thought any other proper man would do in this instance— he got down on one knee.

"Willyoumarryme?" he rushed, looking into Kate's eyes. Kate sighed and closed said eyes.

"No," she said simply, and Nigel looked like he'd been hit in the stomach with a baseball bat.

"What? But... but Kate!" he said, putting down his other knee and sitting back on his heels. "If we're going to have a baby, he or she is going to need a stable home life—" Kate sighed again, a tear slowly slipping down one cheek.

"There isn't going to be a baby." Again, Nigel looked like he'd been hit in the stomach. There was no way he was going to let her end the life of his child, no way, no way, no how.

"Kate, you _can't_...!" he said, desperately grabbing her hands in both of his.

"I'm not getting an abortion," she said, pulling her hands away, "I'm going to miscarry." Nigel opened his mouth and closed it again, unsure of how to respond. He felt his heart break for her; that scared, vulnerable look she was wearing that he had never seen before depositing itself deep in his core. But mostly it broke for his unborn child.

"Are you sure?" he whispered, and she just looked into his eyes. He had his answer.

He got off his knees and sank onto her couch. His vision got blurry. "How... How do you know?" he mumbled, looking toward her.

She didn't say anything. Instead, she got up and walked to a cabinet, much like the one she kept her DVDs in, and bent down to open it. Nigel watched her silently as she ran her finger along a shelf of binders. He wiped his eyes and read the labels on the binders; _Birthdays_, _Graduation_, _Family Portraits_, _Family Reunions_, _Christmas of '79_, et cetera. Photo albums, he guessed.

Her finger stopped on an unmarked black binder, and she pulled it out, then ran a hand over the cover. Nigel had no idea where she was going with this.

Kate got up and went back to Nigel, offering him the binder. He took it, his wet eyes still burning with the question he had asked. Kate sighed and walked away, heading upstairs. After a minute, Nigel heard the water running. She was taking a shower just like that? _What the Bloody Hell_, thought Nigel, turning his attention back to the binder he was holding.

He slowly opened the cover, almost afraid of what was inside. The first page was blank, so he flipped past that too, and the second page was a large ultra sound photo. He smiled. She'd already gotten an ultra sound. He examined the tiny life for a moment, until he realised. This baby had to be ten weeks along, maybe eleven. He and Kate had only been sleeping together for a month.

He opened his mouth to yell for her on to close it when he realised he didn't know what to say. A deep sense of loss was already settling in. The baby wasn't his. How could she have done this to him? It's not like he wouldn't have noticed!

It was then that he saw the timecode at the bottom of the picture. At first he was surprised because the month said '01'. January? It was February, and there was no way Kate was fourteen or fifteen weeks yet. She would have been showing, and she wasn't.

His mouth formed a silent 'oh' as he read the rest of the timecode. '01, 16, 1991' it read. That was seventeen years ago. Obviously this baby wasn't his! He or she would be a teenager by now.

His eyes traveled to the third page, which until then had gone unnoticed. "Bridget Marie Switzer," he read out-loud quietly to himself. "Date of conception... date of death?"

Nigel quickly flipped to the next page. "Nathan Louis Switzer." Again, he flipped the page. "Connor Gabriel Switzer." Each had it's own date of death, each before the second trimester of pregnancy would have started. "Heidi Alicia Switzer."

Nigel Townsend did not cry. He just didn't. His father had a strict rule about it when he was growing up; you didn't cry, didn't show weakness. Yet he could not stop his eyes from watering as he looked through a book of ultra sound photos.

"Rebecca Hope Switzer." The fifth baby's DOD was at the week that marked the begginging of the second trimester.

A tear fell. The first in over ten years. Five. There were five photos, five death certificates. Five miscarriages. He couldn't believe it. Why hadn't she told him? But it did make sense. It explained her detached behaviour when around the dead, her tough exterior; everything.

Nigel put down the binder and got up, headed toward the stairs.

"Kate?" he said quietly, knocking on the bathroom door. The water stopped running, but there was no reply. "Kate?"

He opened the door and let himself in, the only sound the slow, rhythmic dripping of water. "Are you alright, Love?"

He pushed the curtain back and bent down to where she was sitting in the bathtub, fully clothed yet soaked to the skin. "What are you doing?" She looked up at him with red, puffy eyes.

"I needed to feel numb," she confessed, and he offered her a hand, helping her to her feet. "I'm sorry, Nigel." Nigel shook his head.

"No," he said, "I am."

XXX

Michael looked, wide-eyed from his mother to his biological father. The man he had known for only a few days.

"Ser'ously?" he asked seriously, still wide-eyed. Renee nodded slowly, and Michael frowned, looking up at his 'new Daddy'.

"Do you like baseball?" he inquired, and Garret chuckled. Renee relaxed.

"Yeah, I do. Maybe I could take you to a game sometime?" He looked to Renee, who nodded as if to say that that would be fine with her. Michael's face lit up light a lamp.

"Weally? Cool!" He looked toward Renee. "Can I Mommy? _Please?_" He gave her 'the eyes' again. She smiled and ran her hand through his brown hair.

"That sounds great."

XXX

Woody was feeling much better by the next morning. It really had been just a twenty-four hour bug. He was going to go to the store and buy Jordan a gift of some kind to make up for his absence, and then he was going to get on a plane and fly back to Boston.

Then he could help Seely and her with the case, and hopefully find his brother. Maybe it was too much to hope for, but Woody thought not. Somewhere, deep down, he loved Cal more than he would admit—and in that same, buried place in his heart, he knew his little brother was alive.

XXX

He saw him. Finally. How long can one stay in one's hotel room, anyway? Twenty-four hours was way too long, or so he thought.

He was window shopping, the idiot. Didn't he know what was going on? How could he not? When Albie Sampson was involved, when he was in danger, when he was in hiding... how could Woody not know how serious the situation was?

Woody was practically nose-to-glass with a window to a high-end boutique. _Buying a present for his girlfriend_, he thought bitterly, watching Woody from the safeness of the shadows of an alley across the street, _either Jordan, or that blonde girl. _He didn't know which.

He screwed up his eyes against the wind, trying to see what Woody was looking at through the window. From this distance, he couldn't tell. It didn't really matter, anyway.

He gripped his gun a little tighter, his breathing shallower than normal. He reached up with his other hand and swept his lengthy brown hair out of his eyes. He needed a haircut, but it wasn't like he could just walk into a salon and get it done.

Woody crossed the street and began to look in the windows of the shops on this side. He looked almost content, peering into windows as if nothing was wrong. As if no one was stalking him. But they were, and he knew it, even if Woody didn't.

Woody walked out in front of the alley, completely oblivious to his presence. He smiled mirthlessly and gripped the gun even tighter still, then pulled a ski-mask over his face so Woody wouldn't recognise him and blow his cover. It was now or never.

"Hey you!" he called, and Woody spun to face him. He pointed his gun at the other man, who looked startled and tried to reach for his own police-issue weapon. The weapon he didn't have on him because he had flown.

Woody put his hands up slowly. "You want my wallet?" he asked shakily, feeling vulnerable with the weapon pointed at him. His cop-brain was analyzing the situation, trying to figure out a safe way to get out of this without using violence. His best bet seemed to be to go along with whatever this guy wanted.

He grabbed Woody by the arm and dragged him into the alley, pulling him behind a large green dumpster and out of sight from the street. "Do what I say, and we'll both live long enough to see Jordan again," he said, and Woody's blood ran cold as he heard his girlfriends name mentioned. His voice also seemed familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Who are you and what do you want?"

He pulled off the mask and lowered his gun. Woody gaped at the man before him.

"Thank God!"


	34. Chapter 34

_I tried to get this up last night, but my power went out. :) No long author's note today, I'm afraid. Not that anyone reads them, of course... except me, and maybe Belle from time to time... anyway, this is just a little chapter, but I'm almost done the next one, so you won't have long to wait... enjoy!_

**Chatper Thirty-Four: Body Count**

Nigel wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned her head against his chest. She was mostly dry and dressed in fluffy pyjama bottoms and an oversized t-shirt.

"I'll understand if you want to leave," she said quietly, catching him off-gaurd. He let go of her and held her at arms' length.

"Why on _Earth_ would I do that?" he asked, looking into her grey-blue eyes with an almost horrified expression.

"Loosing a baby is not for the faint of heart," he said coolly, as if to imply that he was, "Most men run when they even think about it."

Nigel wrapped his arms around her again in a tight hug, holding her close. "I'm not going anywhere, Kate," he whispered in her ear, his breath tickling it, "You can't get rid of me that easily."

XXX

"What are you doing here?" asked Woody, trying not to yell. "Jordan has been sick with worry over you!"

Calvin Coolidge Hoyt sighed and put a finger to his chapped lips. "Be quiet, would you?" he hissed, pulling his brother further behind the dumpster. "They're watching you."

Woody wrinkled his brow in confusion. "Who is?"

"Albie's people," said Cal quietly, holstering his gun and dropping his mask on the pavement. "They want you to lead them to me. They think you're here to find me because Nigel tracked me down." Woody opened his mouth then closed it, unsure of what to say.

"I..."

"You're not here to find me, I know," he said briskly, pushing his hair of his eyes again, "I've been watching you, too. And them. I'm a step a head of them, thank God. The one thing I don't know is who you were really down here to meet." He looked at his older brother questioningly.

"Max," said Woody, and Cal gave him a 'who is that?' look. "Jordan's dad. I was asking for her hand." Calvin let his gaurd down for a moment to smile.

"So she's finally having sex with you?" he asked jokingly, and Woody smiled. At least in his distress his brother hadn't lost his sence of self.

"For a while now," said Woody, then lowered his voice. "What are we going to do about Albie? How can we stop him?"

"We can't," said Cal, grave once more, "He's out tying up loose ends. And that means killing everyone who knows he's guilty. I'm next on the list, and you and Jordan aren't far behind." Woody's eyes darkened.

"We have to warn her." Cal nodded.

"The most important thing is that you keep her safe. They won't kill either of you until I'm out of the picture, only because he knows that if he lays a finger on either of you, I'll kill him." Woody's eyes widened. "The best thing to do right now is go and keep an eye on her. I can't do that. You can."

"What about... what about your friends? Why'd he kill them? They didn't know anything," said Woody, trying to tie up his own loose ends. This didn't make sence.

"Wong place, wrong time," said Cal sadly, "He tried to torture my location out of them, but they wouldn't give me up. Not that they knew where I was." A tear slid down his cheek, and he brushed it away. "Micky's death was accidental, as far as I know. They didn't know about his diabetes. They killed Jack because Micky died in front of him, and they didn't want a witness to murder."

Woody closed his eyes. He hadn't seen either of the men in years; so long that he hadn't recognised them when he found their bodies in the basement. He remembered one day when he was thirteen— Cal was nine, almost ten, Micky was ten and Jack was eleven. They had two of Woody's friends with them, Harry and Pete. They were swinging on an old tire hanging from the tree in Micky's front yard, trying to see who could jump the farthest from it. Jack and Pete were neck-in-neck for the 'gold', which was an old soup can painted gold with black letters on it that spelled 'winner', until Jack started feeling ill and had to stop.

_"It's okay," said Jack with a weak smile, showing off his large front teeth, "You would've beaten me anyway. You can have to trophy."_

They had all known that Jack was the best jumper in the group, and had he not been sick, he would've won. Jack knew it, too, but let Pete have the 'trophy' anyway. Jack had always been such a nice guy; caring, compassionate. Micky had been adventurous, and daring... but always tried to help the underdog.

Woody hadn't really had time to mourn their deaths yet. They died because they didn't want to give up their friend to someone who wanted to kill him. They were heroes, and he had barely given them a thought.

"I'm sorry, Cal," said Woody, opening his eyes.

"Yeah," said Cal, "Me too. But I'll be even more sorry if Jordan gets mixed up in this. Go to her, Woody. And once this is all over..." Woody looked at his brother aprehensively.

"Yeah?"

Cal grinned. "Send me an invite to the wedding."

XXX

"_Jordan?_"

"Hey!" said Jordan excitedly, grinning. "You sound better."

"_I feel better. I'm at the airport now. I'll be at the Logan in a few hours, depending on how long it takes me to get on a plane from here. Apparently five days after Valentine's Day is not the best time to fly. This place is packed._" Jordan smiled.

"Call me when you land and I'll come pick you up."

"_I will. Love you._"

"Right back at'cha." Jordan flipped her phone shut and Matt gave her a questioning look.

"Woody's on his way home," she said happily, "He'll probably want to assist on the case. Is that okay... boss?" She put her hands on her hips and gave him the famous 'Cavanaugh stare'. He smiled.

"I think that'll be fine," he said, "I could use some help on this, since the body count is rising." He looked toward the corpse lying between them. "What's this guy's name again?"

"Sergei Tchaikovsy," said Jordan, holding up his ID, "A known lackie of Albie Sampson." She shrugged. "Probably didn't get the job done fast enough or well enough." Matt nodded.

"See, this is why I work for the good guys," he confided, looking at the badly-beaten body and wincing slightly. "They don't kill you when you screw up."


	35. Chapter 35

_So. No long author's note today. Just a quick couple of things:  
1. Yes, I killed of Sergei. I never really liked him, anway, even if he was my own creation.  
2. No, I did not completely make up Kate's neighbour, Henry, actually (though why Belle PMed me with this question I do not know). In season six, episode nine, '_Seven Feet Under_' Kate mentions her friend Henry who works as a curator at the Boston Met., and I got the idea from there.  
3. I do plan on a happy ending in the Kate/Nigel department, somewhat. It'll just take a while!_

**Chapter Thirty-Five: It's Never the Right Time**

"I knew vee shouldn't have sent him back to Boston alone," whined Pavel, leaning back in his plane seat. "Vee should have known that Albie vould be mad and..." He drew a finger across his throat and made a 'kktch' sound.

"Yes, vell... at least it vasn't us," said Mikhail, flipping the page in his Russian magazine. "He von't do that to us now that he has taken his anger out on Sergei."

"True." Pavel ripped open a packet of salted peanuts with his teeth and popped one into his mouth. "But I still feel bad about it." Mikhail rolled his eyes and flipped another page.

"There's nothing to feel bad about," he said, his eyes traveling down the page, "He was alive, now he's dead. Big deal." Pavel looked shocked, and Mikhail rolled his eyes again. "The man was an idiot. Get over it."

"He was my friend," said Pavel softly, "I knew him since fourth grade when he copied off my maths paper." Mikhail chuckled.

"Some friend," he said sarcastically. The seatbelt light went on and the two Russian men did theirs up and prepared for landing. _Boston, here we come._

XXX

"Woody!" Jordan threw her arms around his neck, which was very uncharacteristic of her. But she was happy to see him. She really had missed him when he was in New York.

Woody gave her a kiss and collected his bags. "You had any trouble while I was gone?" he asked, trying to sound casual, while keeping a look out. He felt paranoid, but for good reason! Jordan climbed into her El Camino and shook her head.

"Not really. We have another body in the case, though. Sergei something-or-other. One of Albie's lackies." Woody groaned and put his stuff in her trunk, then hopped in himself.

"We'd better nail him before he gets to anyone else," said Woody, doing up his seatbelt, "We need him in jail by yesterday."

XXX

Bug watched his best friend stand up from where he was sitting over by a computer and wander off toward the breakroom with a sad look on his face. There was something defidently up with Nigel. He was being so... Bug didn't know how to describe it. Just different. Less like Nigel.

Bug went over to the computer to check out his DNA analysis, when he noticed what page Nigel had had up before he left and forgot to close. It was Nigelblog(dot)com. Bug raised an eyebrow. Nigel had given that blog up a while ago, after the Hangman case. ...Hadn't he?

He sat down in front of the computer and looked at the dates running down the left side of the screen. They jumped from 07-03-2007 to 19-01-2008 and continued regularly after that. Bug, curious, clicked the link to the 29-01-2008 entry. That was almost a month ago.

"_Dearest bloggers_," read Bug, "_Nigel here. I have missed you all so much! It seems you have missed me too, as I have read the first entry at . Nice fan-girl, her. Here's a shot out to you, Anna! Thank you for telling me the truth and giving me the kick in the behind I needed to restart my blog. I will be blogging again, if less frequently, and probably with shorter posts, too, but I love you all and I am home!_" Bug snickered. How Nigel-like.

"_I am currently in the hospital, using one of the nurse's computers. No, I am not dying. I was accidentally poisoned. Kate, Lily, Bug and, unfortunately, Maddie got exposed as well. I hear that our favourite baby, Maddie, that is, is doing fine and will make a full recovery. It seems we are all getting better, thank the Lord, and we will all live to see our next birthdays._" Again, Bug snickered. He wrote this while he was still in the hospital. He skipped a few lines when he saw his name.

"_Many viewers are probably wondering the status of my best friend Bug and his girlfriend. Yes, that's Lily. She's living with him, and both she and the baby are doing great. Bug is like a father to that adorable little girl... more so than her real father, I mean. Or should I say genetic father? I think Bug is her real father, to tell the truth._" Bug felt himself almost tear up. Nigel was defidently his best friend, he decided. He skipped a few lines, deciding it would take too long to read the entire blog entry.

"_Did I mention we were in a plane crash? We almost died, but Bug and I were able to rig up a radio signal and get us off the mountain we were stranded on. Good thing, too, because Dr. Macy had internal bleeding. I broke my arm, but was otherwise uninjured. I feel awful for Kate; she hates flying, and then a crash... needless to say she held onto me with a deathlike grip on the helicopter ride to the Boston General. And I'm not too upset about it. wink wink, nudge nudge Plus I still think she smells nice. What?! She does!!_" Bug groaned. Nigel had a crush on Kate? Well, he did when he wrote this. He wondered briefly if his new girlfriend had read his blog.

"_Speaking of Kate (we were speaking of Kate, right?) I think she might have a soft spot for me. She came to visit me the other day. Snuck out of her room and came down with her IV! It was so funny when the nurse walked into on us... uh... well, we were snogging._"Bug gasped. Out loud. Which wasn't like him at all.

He knew Nigel and Nigel's way of talking well enough to know what 'snogging' was, not to mention the fact that he had lived in Liverpool. Bug closed the window and pushed his fingers into his temples. Kate _was_ Nigel's new girlfriend! He thought back to when Nigel came in late and wearing the same clothes as the day before. All the evidence suggested that...

_Ew! _thought Bug, _Nigel' slept with Kate!_For most people this thought wouldn't come as an "ew!", but Bug didn't really like Kate all that much. If you asked him, she had a heart of stone and was rude and sometimes even mean. She hadn't exactly been nice to him.

No wonder Nigel was so mope-ish. Having Kate as a girlfriend was bound to be a nightmare; controlling, snarky, sarcastic, negative and pushy Kate Switzer.

Bug stormed out of the room and down the hall to the break room, slammed open the door and demanded to know why Nigel hadn't told him. Nigel put down his coffee and looked at Bug as though he had three heads.

"Why I didn't tell you what?" he asked, licking his lips.

"That you're sleeping with Kate?" Bug suggested angrily, putting his hands on his hips.

"Can you say that any louder, I don't think Woody heard you in New York!" said Nigel sarcastically, standing.

"Oh, well, why don't I just yell louder?" Bug yelled louder and Nigel cringed.

"Bug..."

"I'm your best friend, and you didn't tell me that you're having sex with one of our coworkers! I thought we told each other everything, and I find out by reading your _blog_ that you've been hiding something this huge from me!" Bug sank into a chair across from Nigel. "Strangers know more about you than I do," he whispered.

"Oh..." said Nigel, looking down, "It's not that— Bug..." Nigel didn't know what to say, what to do. "I'm sorry." Bug shrugged.

"It's not even that big a deal, it's just... I trust you. Don't _you _trust _me_?"

"Of course I do, Bug," said Nigel, leaning forward, "It was never the... right... time."

"So still should have told me."

"I know." Nigel sipped his coffee, and Bug watched him silently. For a moment, Nigel almost told his friend about Kate's... situation. How he felt awful, responsible, heartbroken and anxious. How he hoped it couldn't break them up, because he really cared for her. He wanted to, but it just wasn't the right time. And probably would never be.


	36. Chapter 36

_So, Bug figured it out. :) Jordan knows, and Garret is speculating. Looks like it's not a secret anymore._

_I might not update for a few days :( Not because I don't want to, but because my dad is getting married and I have all this stuff I need to do to prepare. My soon-to-be-step-brothers won't be of much help, so it'll be my sister and my almost-step-sister doing a lot of the decorating and junk. At least I don't have to be a flower girl._

**Chapter Thirty-Six: Peaches, Icecream, Haircuts and Phone Calls**

"Hi, Emmy," said Jordan vaguely, passing the front desk. Emmy looked up and smiled.

"Dr. Cavanaugh! Detective Hoyt! Welcome back," she observed smiling at Woody. She turned to Jordan. "Detective Seely is waiting for you in Trace with your body, Lily is working on contacting next of kin, and Garret was wondering where you were."

Jordan smiled and half waved, walking toward Trace with Woody close behind. "Matt!" Jordan walked into Trace and spotted him, standing over Sergei's body.

He looked up and smiled. "Hoyt. Welcome back." Woody nodded toward the younger detective and took a good look a Sergei.

"Are we sure he worked for Albie?" he asked almost brusquely, and both Jordan and Matt nodded.

"Yeah, he was a confirmed con-artist working for him," said Matt, picking up Sergei's file, "Arrested for stalking, aggravated assault, petty theft, stalking, stalking, assault with a deadly weapon, evading arrest..." Matt stopped his list and looked up at Woody. "He wasn't very good at being discreet."

"Okay, I got it," said Woody, leaning in toward the body and taking a deep breath. "What's that smell?" He leaned in toward Matt and inhaled again. "Is that you?" Matt took a step sideways and looked almost offended.

"No, it's him alright," he said, sounding almost worried. "Smells like overripe peaches."

"Peaches?" asked Jordan, bending down and taking a deep breath also, "Huh. It does, too! You have a very good nose, Boss." Matt smiled and made a note in his file, whilst Woody looked a little weirded out.

"'Boss'? he asked, looking between the two. Matt grinned.

"I'm in charge of the investigation," he said proudly, "I am the first detective to tame Jordan Cavanaugh. She follows my directions." Woody raised an eyebrow and looked toward Jordan, who smiled weakly and shook her head the tiniest amount, as if to say 'yeah, _right_'.

"Speaking of," continued Matt, not noticing the looks between the couple, "When are you starting the autopsy? If we can figure out where's he's been, we might be able to track down Sampson."

"I'll autopsy him as soon as we're done trace," said Jordan, gritting her teeth. She wasn't liking this whole 'let Seely be in charge' thing as much as she thought she would, and she hadn't thought she would enjoy it.

"Great!" said Matt happily, "Call me when you find out what the peachy smell is all about." He turned on his heal and left Trace. Woody looked toward Jordan, looking sceptical.

"I thought it might come in handy to have him think he was in charge!" she justified quickly. "Seriously, did you really think that Seely could 'tame' me so easily?" Woody chuckled.

"No one can tame you."

She shook her head and started to examine Sergei's body. "Substance under the nails," she observed, turning back into her usual workaholic self. "Bruising on the wrists, torso, face, neck and legs." She began to collect samples, while Woody went to go get coffee. It was going to be a long day.

XXX

"You know, Lily, I've been thinking." Lily swallowed the icecream she already had in her mouth and put down her spoon almost dejectedly. When Bug said something like that, it was important.

"About what?"

"Everything. You, Maddie, Nigel, Kate..." Lily pushed her bowl off to the side.

"Why?"

"Nigel has been seeing Kate behind our backs." Lily looked taken aback momentarily, but settled back into her regular counsellor look.

"That's to be expected," she said, "We've seen how they look at each other."

"I hadn't."

"Why does it bother you?" She tried to catch his eyes but he avoided her.

"I don't like her."

"Is that all?" Bug looked up at her.

"He didn't tell me." Lily gave him an apologetic look.

"And that hurt you." He shook his head.

"At first I was angry. He's my best friend. He's supposed to tell me this kind of stuff. But he didn't." He sighed. "Now it just seems... pathetic."

"Him not telling you?" Again, he shook his head.

"No, me being angry at him for not telling me. I shouldn't have been. He's allowed to keep secrets." Lily reached across their table and took his hand.

"But you don't want him to?" Bug put his hand on top of hers.

"Not from me. I thought we told each other everything." He sighed. "Why am I telling you this? It's stupid." He pulled his hands away, folding them in his lap. "I'm sorry."

"No, Bug! No. You have to open up to someone," said Lily, standing up and walking around the table to him. "You always bottle up your emotions— and that's sad, because you are the most compassionate person I know. It's not good for your psyche to keep things inside all the time." She kneeled down beside him, taking his hands again. "I love you, Bug, and all I want to do is listen." Bug looked at her and gave her a small smile.

"I don't like talking."

"Then I guess I'll have to listen to your silence." Bug chuckled.

"I love you, you know that?" Lily smiled.

"Yes," she said, "I do."

XXX

Cal took the scissors and stared at them for a minute, then brought them up to his fringe carefully and snipped a lock off. It wouldn't be perfect, but it would allow him to see again. He took a good look in the mirror, then did another snip, trying to even it out. It looked awful. Terrible. But what did he care?

He snipped again. Now it looked half-decent, at least. Still wild and unapproachable, but manageable now. He put down the scissors on the counter and examined his new haircut closely. He didn't even look like himself anymore; the sad eyes with bags under them from lack of sleep, the moustache he had grown, his way-more-than-five-o'clock-shadow, his thin, dimple-less cheeks. That was what he hated most. The dimples. They were gone.

He smiled half-heartedly, but they didn't appear. No matter how hard he tried, his normal happy-go-lucky dimples that he adored and _relied_ on just weren't there anymore. How could he loose his dimples? Weren't they, like, permanent?

He turned on the tap and splashed some water on his face, then looked up and turned to face the window of his hotel room. He glared across the street at the hotel his brother had been staying at. He could see the maid in the room beside Woody's old one, making up the beds and cleaning up. _So the Russian's have followed him_, thought Cal, sighing. He reached for his prepaid cell phone and started to dial his brother's number. He needed to know about this.

XXX

"Hoyt," Woody answered his phone as he watched Jordan look through Sergei's stomach contents. He found the whole thins rather disgusting, so he looked away and used the call as an excuse not to pay attention.

"_Are you alone?_"

Woody glanced at Jordan. "No."

"_Then my name is John until further notice._"

"Okay, John," said Woody, biting his lip. "What's wrong?"

"_They've followed you. They could be watching you at any time, so watch your back, and Jordan's._"

"Geez," he breathed. He hadn't fully believed his brother when he explained that he was being followed, but when Jordan's safety was called it... it made the threat all too real.

"_I'd advise you to give her a gun for protection, but she'd want to know why. You might want to have someone tail her when you can't,_" said Cal, pausing. Then, "_And I'm going to come to Boston._"

"No!"

Jordan jumped and looked at him, confused. "Sorry," mumbled Woody, and she turned back to her work with a shake of her head, her dark curly hair flying everywhere.

"No," he said, much quieter, "Don't. You. Dare." There was a hollow laugh on the other end which made Woody's blood run cold. That laugh didn't belong to the little brother he knew and loved.

"_Like you can stop me,_" said Cal bitterly, "_The only reason I haven't given up yet is to protect Jordan, and I want to do my part in keeping her in harm's way._" Woody didn't like this new version of his brother very much, but if he was trying to protect Jordan, then the real him was buried in his, somewhere. That gave Woody hope.

"You already are," said Woody, "You don't need to—" The dial tone made him stop talking. Cal had hung up the phone.

"Dammit!" Jordan looked up at him again.

"Something wrong? Who was that?" she sounded worried.

"John. Uh, never mind. It's nothing. I have... overdue paperwork," lied Woody quickly, and hating himself for it. Lying to Jordan always made his heart heavy.

"Ouch," she said, then grinned. "Guess what."

"What?" asked Woody, flashing her the 'famous Hoyt dimples'.

"Another connection to Albie Sampson," she said proudly, holding up the jar of peachy-smelling half digested food and stomach acid. "He ate a 'Peach Plate' just before he died."

"I'll pretend to know what that means."

"A 'Peach Plate'. Peaches, vanilla icecream, chopped walnuts and caramel sauce in a pie crust with more peaches on top. Only served at Albie's bar. Don't you remember seeing the sign when we last went there?"

Woody flipped open his phone to call Matt. It wasn't a major connection, but if they could find more, they could burry Albie under the evidence so there would be no chance at him going free. "Seely? It's Hoyt. I've got news."


	37. Chapter 37

_Verker – worker. That one was sort of hard to figure out. :)_

_I'm starting to like Pavel. :) When I started this, he was expendable... but now I don't think I want to kill him off. What do you guys think? Should Pavel live or should he die? The story will work either way..._

_PS I'm going for forty chapters. Might be a tiny bit longer, but forty is my goal._

**Chapter Thirty-Seven: Troubled**

"But he killed him!" Pavel was in a panic. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was scared to death of his employer, Albie Sampson.

"_He didn't kill _you_, did he?_" asked Pavel's cousin sarcastically. Pavel's cousin, Yuri, was the one who had tricked him into working for Albie in the first place. Yuri had owed Albie lots of money, and had given him a cheep lackie as payment.

"N-no," said Pavel, still distressed.

"_Vhy vould he kill such a valued verker?_" There was a chuckle, and Pavel winced. "_As long as you are a good little verker and do vhat he says, he von't hurt a hair on your precious little head, I'm telling you. Just don't do anything stupid._"

"I von't," promised Pavel quietly, tears coming to his eyes.

"_Then you'll be fine._" There was a _click!_ as Yuri hung up the phone, and Pavel put his down.

Pavel wasn't particularly fond of his cousin. In fact, he thought he might hate him. And Pavel Ianov hated hating people for any reason. It was this that made him resent working for Albie— all Albie did was bad things, usually for money or for 'family'. Being a believer of doing anything for one's family, Pavel could appreciate that; but the things that Albie did...

He shivered outwardly and wrapped his arms around himself. "I don't think I can do this," he mumbled, still shivering.

"Can't do vhat?" Mikhail walked out of the hotel bathroom wearing his blue-and-white stripped pyjamas and towel-drying his lengthy black hair. Pavel collapsed on his bed and shook his head.

"Everything. Vhat did the Hoyt brothers ever do to me?" He looked up at his coworker seriously. "I don't think I can kill them. I've never killed somebody before. I don't think I could live vith myself."

Mikhail looked surprised and mildly sympathetic. "You'll get used to it," he encouraged, tossing his towel on the floor and flopping down on his own bed. "It comes vith the territory. If you vant to vork for Albie, you have to hurt people. You'll get over it eventually, kid, don't vorry."

Pavel grabbed his pillow and put it over his head. He didn't think he would ever get used to it. He didn't think he could handle it. He had to do something. He had to save them. He had to do the right thing. But in order to do so, he would have to put himself in harm's way. Could he really do that?

He shook his head. He was in deep trouble.

XXX

Two detectives and a medical examiner walked into a bar. Not just any bar, no, it was Albie Sampson's bar. Armed with a photograph of Sergei and their badges, they walked up to the bartender, who looked down at them (he had to be at least 6'5") with a sneer.

"Yes?" he asked almost too politely, the corner of his eye twitching menacingly. Seely recoiled from the man a little, looking almost scared, which was unusual for him. It was Jordan who spoke first.

"Have you seen this man lately?" she quipped, offering him the photo. The bar tender took one glance at it.

"No."

"Are you sure," she pressured, holding it out to him still, "Might have ordered the 'Peach Plate'?" The bar tender shrugged.

"The 'Plate' is popular," he said gruffly, eyeing her, "Many men order it."

Woody didn't like the way this guy was looking at Jordan. "Mind if we ask around?" he asked quickly, so as to remove her from him. The bartender glared at Woody like something stuck to his shoe, and like he was only now noticing he was there.

"I doubt you'll find any of our customers any more forthcoming," he said slowly eyes narrowing slightly, "But do as you please. It is a free country."

"Thank you," said Woody politely, leading his girlfriend by the arm away from the bartender. Matt followed quietly, occasionally glancing back at the creepy man. The three split up and started asking around about Sergei, but coming up with nothing.

Matt walked up beside Woody. "I have a bad feeling about that guy," he mumbled, looking back at him and flinching. Woody looked over Matt's shoulder at him.

"Me, too." Jordan was at the table to their right, asking a blonde man with a tiny goatee if he had seen the victim.

"Sorry miss," said the blonde man to Jordan, giving her a wink. She shrugged and walked up to the detectives.

"Any luck?" They shook their heads.

"I've asked everyone in sight," said Woody, rubbing the back of his neck, "No one knows him."

"Or they know him, but they're lying," Matt pointed out, and Jordan nodded. She squinted off toward the corner of the smokey bar.

"Did you ask that guy?" she asked, motioning toward the young man in the booth, half obscured by a shadow that had creeped into the corner. Woody looked at him and shook his head.

"Nope. I guess we missed one," he said, pulling the photo out of his jean's pocket and walking toward the booth. "Sir, have you seen this man around here before?" He held up the photo as he approached the young man.

He looked up from the beer he had been nursing and gave the photo a good look from the distance at which he was holding it. His eyes narrowed, then widened, and he jumped from his seat and sprinted toward the back door.

"Why do they always run?" moaned Matt as he watched Woody quickly gain his bearings and start pursuit. He dropped the photo in his own hand and began to chase after the two, Jordan following closely behind him.

Out the back door and into an alley, down the alley and out to the street Woody chased the young man from the bar. They seemed to be slowing a little. The man wasn't too fit— obviously not a sporty person. He was panting heavily and Woody slowly caught up.

Once he got close enough, Woody dived for the man, grabbing him by the coat and pulling him down onto the sidewalk. He shoved his knee into his back, yanking his arms out behind him and cuffing them as Matt and Jordan approached.

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" said Matt, rolling his eyes. "Running just makes you look guilty."

"I didn't do anything!" said the young man, tears welling in his eyes. "Really, I didn't!"

"What's your name, kid?" asked Woody, pulling him up off the pavement and to his feet. He sniffled pathetically.

"Pavel," he said quietly. "Pavel Ianov."


	38. Chapter 38

_I seem to have forgotten where Kate was actually from, so I made it up and said that she was from San Francisco. If that is way off and you do know where she's from, feel free to PM me and I might change it when I have time. :)_

**Chapter Thirty-Eight: Interrogation and Pursuit**

"Nigel?" Nigel looked up from the microscope and glanced in Kate's direction. She stood by the door to Trace, hands on her hips and looking less than content. He sighed.

"Yeah?"

"Can we talk?" He nodded and got up, and, stretching his tired back muscles, followed her out of the room and down the hall to the crypt, the most insulated place in the building. As long as no one walked in, no one would be able to hear their conversation.

"What's up?" asked Nigel, leaning against an empty metal slab. It was cool against his sweaty palms. He was nervous; the last time Kate had said those words he had cried for the first time in a decade. He didn't want this to be another oportunity for tears.

"I called Dr. Fitzgerald," she said, sound almost breathless. Nigel waited for a moment to see if she would continue, but she didn't. He rolled his eyes in the way that only _he_ could, as if to say, '_so, what?_'.

"And who, pray tell, is Dr. Fitzgerald?" he asked cherrily, trying to make light of the conversation, though he had no clue whether it would be a 'light' conversation or not.

"He was my obstetrician in San Fransisco," said Kate, crossing her arms as if she was cold, "He's flying in to take a look at me and tell me what I already know." Nigel sighed.

"Oh." He knew it had something to do with her pregnancy. Why else would the conversation have to be private?

"I thought you might want to be there." Nigel nodded, but didn't way anything. He was thinking. Like always, he was over-analysing the situation. Dr. Fitzgerald was going to examine Kate and tell them that she was going to miscarry, which they already knew because of Kate's less-than-perfect medical history. Of _course_ he needed to be there, if only to hold Kate when she fell apart.

"He'll be here tomorrow afternoon," said Kate quietly. Nigel nodded again.

"Okay," he mumbled. "Thank you for telling me." He was glad that she had told him, rather than just doing this all by herself. Whether she knew it or not, she needed him to be there.

They stood in silence for a while. This wasn't easy, wouldn't _be_ easy.

XXX

"How well to you know and Sergei Tch-tchaik-ko—" Woody could never say that name right.

"Tchaikovsky," corrected Pavel automatically. Then, "Oops." He had been silent for most of the time he had been sitting in the interrogation room, not even requesting a lawyer.

"So you _do_ know him." It was more of a statement then a question. Pavel was scared. He had let it slip! They would kill him!

"N-no."

"Yeah you do," said Woody, grinning. He slid into the chair across from Pavel, then pushed the photo of Sergei closer to him. "You know him. Do you work for Albie, too?" Pavel's eyes widened.

"No!" he retorted, his voice cracking.

"I'll take that as a yes." Pavel looked down at the photo, defeated. He was a terrible liar. "So, what? You got mad, decided to knock him around?" Woody talked quietly, menicingly, trying to weedle a confession out of the younger man. He knew that Pavel hadn't killed Sergei, he was much too small, and defidently not the type. He wasn't looking for Pavel to tell him that he did it. He was looking for him to tell him that Albie did it.

"N-no! I didn't kill him!" said Pavel desperately, eyes watering. "You've got to believe me! He vas my friend!"

"Then who did?" countered Woody, leaning forward on his elbows. Pavel's eyes went downcast.

"I can't tell you," he mumbled. Woody sighed.

"Then you're our best suspect." Pavel face paled.

"But I didn't do it!"

"And I believe you," said Woody, "But a DA won't. You knew him. You ran when you saw his picture. It's looking pretty bad for you right now." He was switching to good-cop to try and lull the guy into a false sense of security, make him talk.

"I didn't kill him," whispered Pavel. Woody nodded.

"Who did?"

"I can't tell you!" Pavel looked up at Woody, eyes watering even more. He was on the verge of tears, poor guy.

"Why not?"

"He'll kill me!"

"Albie?" Pavel's eyes widened like he'd let slip a big secret. "Albie will kill you? Did he kill Sergei?" Pavel didn't answer. "You could just nod," Woody sugested, "That way, you wouldn't actually be telling me anything. You won't get in trouble."

Pavel looked up at Woody. "Will Albie kill you if you tell us anything?" Pavel gave a tiny nod of his head.

XXX

Behind the glass divider, Jordan smiled. They had him. They had Albie.

XXX

"Did Albie kill Sergei?" asked Woody, holding his breath for the answer. Pavel shook his head. Woody looked disappointed, but continued his interrogation anyway.

"Did he hire someone else to kill Sergei?"

He nodded.

XXX

"Yes!" said Mat triumphantly. "We have _so_got him!" He put up his hand and offered it to Jeffrey, to high-fived him. He had joined the group behind the glass only a minute before, after hearing that they may be close to nailing Albie Sampson to a wall.

"All we need to get to him do is agree to testify, and Albie Sampson will be behind bars," said Jeffrey confidently, smiling slightly.

"We couldn't get him for hurting Bug," said Jordan quietly, "But we'll get him for killing those men."

XXX

"Did he kill Micky Perry and Jack Webb, too?"

"Not Perry," he whispered, shaking his head. "Perry was an accident."

"Because he was diabetic?" Pavel nodded. "Did Albie kill Jack?" Pavel nodded. "Himself?" Again, Pavel nodded. "Were you there?" Another nod. "If we protected you, would you be willing to testify?"

Pavel bit his lower lip. "He'd kill me. He has many friends."

"What if we protected you? We could put you in the witness protection program," said Woody, "And he wouldn't be able to find you. Until you testify, we could keep you in a safe house. No one would hurt you." Pavel seemed to think about it. "It would help us keep a killer off the streets."

"Vould I really be safe?" he asked, eyes wide. Woody nodded. "Okay. I vill testify."

XXX

There was a lot of cheering from behind the glass. More people had gathered behind it, hoping for something they could use to put Albie Sampson, who had caused so much grief within both the Boston police department and the Morgue, behind bars.

Seely punched the air in triumph. Jeffrey grinned and resisted the urge to dance around in circles. Jordan hugged herself happily, her smile larger than she remembered smiling in a long while. Even Renee cracked a smile. They had him. They had Albie. He was _going down_.

XXX

Woody kicked in the locked front door to Albie's bar, gun raised in front of him. Seven other police officers followed him in, ready to arrest him for kidnapping, murder one, murder-for-hire, stalking, assult with a deadly weapon... the list went on, thanks to Pavel Ianov's testimony.

There was a light on in the back room, and Woody aproached it silently, motioning for the others to follow his lead. "Police! Get your hands up!" he yelled, kicking in the door and pointing his gun around the room in a quick sweep. The 

other officers followed suit, each picking one of the men in the room and training their guns on them.

Albie looked up from his card game calmly. "Good evening, officers," he said politely. "Is there something that you need?"

"Albie Sampson, you are under arrest," said Woody, trying not to sound too smug. Albie blinked as though he didn't understand.

He hadn't expected to be arrested. Not that he hadn't done it, he had, it was just... he'd been so careful to avoid leaving evidence or witnesses. They couldn't have had anything on him. ...Could they?

"What do you mean? For what?!"

"Murder in the first degree," he said confidently, pulling Albie from his seat and taking one of his hands, forcing it behind his back. He was about to cuff it when Albie obviously decided that he didn't want to be handcuffed.

Woody yelped as Albie's foot unexpectedly made contact with his groin, and he dropped the handcuffs. One of the other officers tried to grab him as he tried to run, while Woody screwed up his eyes in pain and bent over double.

Albie's companions who were in the room, the creepy bartender and two other Russian men, rushed at the officers and began to fight them for their guns, as if on cue. The bartender actually succeeded to wrestle one away from an officer because he had an exceptional size advantage on the 5'4" blonde man. He fired two bullets into the officer's stomach, pointed it at another officer, who fired back, hitting him squarely in the chest.

Smoke from the weapons' fire slowly filled the room, adding to the confusion. Woody, still crumpled over, soon found himself gunless and still in pain from Albie's kick (the man must have been wearing steel-toed boots or something, because _man _did that hurt!). He distantly heard the beep of a radio and a female officer saying, "Shots fired, officer down!", but he didn't pay attention. He was too absorbed in finding the gun he had apparently dropped while trying to ignore the pain Albie had caused between his legs.

He dropped to his knees and desperately felt around for it, a splinter or two getting caught under his fingernails as they clawed at the rough, old cherry floors in search of his weapon.

"Looking for this?"

Time seemed to stand still as Woody looked down the barrel of his own gun, pointed between his eyes by Albie himself. He sucked in a tiny breath and held it, silently praying that Albie wouldn't pull the trigger.

"Drop the weapon!" said one of the officers, seeing Albie with his gun practically touching Woody's forehead. He trained his own gun on Albie, and repeated the comand. "Drop the weapon!"

Woody glanced sideways at the officer. _Hamilton_, he thought, _Seamus Hamilton, the rookie. _He looked back at Albie, who was looking at Hamilton.

"Make one move and Hoyt is a dead man," he warned, still using that ultra-calm tone. Woody clenched and unclenched his fists. He wanted to hit Albie, kick him in the groin just as Albie had done to him, _something_. But he couldn't. One false move and he'd be at the Morgue on a slab, rather than as a detective. And he couldn't do that to Jordan. He needed to get out of this alive, for her sake. She would break if he was gone, and he couldn't live— or die— with that kind of guilt.

A trickle of sweat dripped down the side of Hamilton's face. The fighting around them had stopped, thank goodness. One of Albie's lackies was dead, one shot in the foot and the other in cuffs. The breathless officers watched the stare-down between Hamilton and Albie, each thinking the same thing. That they had to get Woody out of this.

One of the officers, Mike Wheeler, slowly holstered his gun. He was standing behind Albie, out of his view, and quiet as a mouse, aproached him. Albie, who hadn't heard Wheeler's approach, gently used his thumb to pull back the hammer, which clicked into place.

"I'm already a dead man," said Albie simply, "What's another murder count?"

He fired.


	39. Chapter 39

_I bet most of you hate me because of the killer cliffhanger, and will continue to because of the first few lines of this chapter. :)_

_This is a longer chapter, only because I'm trying to wrap things up. This was an attempt at angst and fluff in one go; not sure it worked out that way, but oh well._

_To _Pandorea_: I hate to burst your bubble if you actually thought I would let Albie kill Woody just like that, because I'm not a devil. I do like the guy. :) Though I'm not sure if you wanted me to kill him, or were just pleased with the cliffhanger..._

_PS I love morphine! I don't hate it. My sister does, only because she goes all wonkey when she gets some._

**Chapter Thirty-Nine: Miracles**

Three things happened in that second that contributed to his death. First, Albie Sampson drew back his finger and pulled the trigger of Woody Hoyt's police-issue nine millimeter hand gun. Second, officer Mike Wheeler jumped on Albie's back, knocking him off balance. Third, Seamus Hamilton fired four shots from his own police-issue weapon, straight at Albie and Wheeler.

Those three events happened in slow motion for Woody Hoyt. He saw Wheeler jump just as Albie pulled the trigger. He saw Albie's arm move off to the left as he flailed to keep his balance. He heard Hamilton's gun fire four rounds, two into Albie's chest, one into his neck and one missing him completely. He felt a swearing white-hot pain in the side of his head. He felt hot, sticky blood run down his chin as his hand automatically flew up to put pressure on the wound. And he heard the high-pitched female scream of officer Taylor Ross as he went down, and the world slowly faded to darkness.

It was quiet. He was calm. _Is this what death is?_ Woody thought, _Nothing but blackness?_He felt as if we was floating in a pool of dark nothingness. It was then, he realised as he teetered on the brink of sleep and awareness, that the pain in his head started. Off to the left of his skull, somewhere around his left ear, there was a throbbing, burning pain. He wouldn't be feeling pain in he was dead.

Slowly, Woody regained concsiousness. He could hear the beep of a heart monitor. He could feel someone holding his hand. He could hear someone whispering things in his good ear, but they didn't yet make sense.

"...and then..." He caught two words. They didn't make sense out of context, but he was happy that they were there, and who was saying them. Jordan Marie Cavanaugh, the love of his life. He smiled. Or, rather, he tried to.

"He's grimacing!" He heard Jordan yell, and winced. She could be very vocal sometimes. "He needs more morphine!"

He heard a doctor or a nurse telling Jordan that he'd already had enough, and that he was probably just dreaming. _Dreaming my arse_, thought Woody, trying to open his eyes, but they felt heavy.

"Jordan, go home, I'll take my watch." Woody heard that, too. Garret, maybe? Sounded like him. That gruffy, not-quite-happy kind of voice that he usually supported.

"No, no, he'll be waking up soon. Where is everyone? Don't they care?" She sounded upset.

"Bug and Lily will be here as soon as they can find a sitter for Maddie," said Garret, and Woody heard the creak of a hospital chair as he sat down. "Nigel is on his way; and Kate's catching a ride with him."

They were quiet for a few moments, and Woody had time to wake up, though slowly. All his senses seemed to be slightly dulled. _Morphine_, he thought, and smiled.

"Is he smiling?" asked Garret, sitting up straighter and causing the chair to squeak again.

"I thought that was a grimace," said Jordan, leaning in toward him. He could feel her breath on his face. "Woody, are you smiling or grimacing in pain?"

He again tried to open his eyes, looking back and forth beneath their lids for a moment. "I think he's waking up!" said Jordan almost excitedly.

Woody opened his eyes slowly, experimentally. The first thing he saw was Jordan's worried eyes looking into his, her nose almost touching his. He grunted, and she smiled.

"Hey," she said, and he grunted again. "How are you feeling?" He looked to his left and saw Garret sitting in a fold-up chair, smiling slightly. He looked back at Jordan, who was still in his face.

"Ow," he grumbled finally, and she sighed with relief, sitting back down in her own chair on his right.

"Thank God." She closed her eyes for a minute. "Can you hear alright?" she asked, opening her eyes and looking at him again. It was a strange question to ask, or so Woody thought but he nodded.

"Yes," he said. He tried to sit up, but it made everything feel foggy. "What happened?" Jordan and Garret looked at each other.

"You were shot," said Jordan slowly, watching him try to sit up and flop back onto the pillow when he realised it wasn't worth it.

"We get Albie?"

"He's dead." Woody nodded again, blinking to get the stars away from his eyes when that made everything foggy also.

Woody gingerly reached up with his left hand and touched his left ear. All he felt was a gauze bandage. "How bad is it?" he asked, wincing when he touched the bandage.

"You'll have an... interesting feature from now on," said Garret when Jordan didn't respond. Woody turned his head to look at him.

"What d'you mean?"

Garret didn't have time to answer, because Nigel and Kate strolled in at that moment. "Hey, the Earless Wonder is awake!" said Nigel cheerfully, and Woody went into panic-mode.

"What do you mean, 'earless'?" he asked loudly, trying once again to sit up and failing.

"Not earless, exactly," said Jordan, "More like... one and a half."

"What?!"

"There was a small hole put in your ear, Woody," explained Garret calmly, glaring at Nigel. Nigel made a 'I'm sorry' face and took two chairs from near the door and set them up by the foot of Woody's bed.

"Hole? Hole?!" His hand went up and he rubbed the painful gauze again.

"Just a little one," said Nigel, holding his thumb and index finger about a centimeter apart and holding them up in front of his face.

Woody continued to rub the gauze, even though it caused him pain. He knew he had been shot over in the ear-area, but he didn't think the bullet had actually gone _through_ his ear. A hole! In his ear! It wasn't possible. It just wasn't.

"No," said Woody defiently. Jordan rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand.

"Stop playing with it!" she scolded, sounding more like the Jordan he fell in love with before the meningioma.

Woody sighed. "Is it awful?"

Jordan made a '_kinda-sorta_' sort of face, but said, "No..."

He groaned. "That bad?"

"No, not _that_ bad," said Jordan, "Just painful for a little while. Especially if you keep playing with it!" She smacked his hand away from where it had been wandering toward his ear again.

"It's itchy!" he complained, realising as soon as it was out of his mouth how little that sounded like him. He hated morphine.

XXX

A couple of hours later, Kate glanced at her watch and stood up, stretching her cramped back muscles. "We have to go," she announced to those who were still awake in Woody's hospital room, and grabbed Nigel by the arm, yanking him in the direction of the door.

Because of all the commotion with Woody being shot and all, he had forgotten about their appointment with Dr. Fitzgerald. He quickly rose and followed his distressed girlfriend out of Woody's room and to the elevator.

"We're going to be late," she said in an almost whiney tone. Nigel shook his head. What had he gotten himself into?

XXX

"So sorry we're late!" said Kate hurridely as they rushed in the door ten minutes later, hair windswept from his bike.

"No problem, Katherine," said Dr. Fitzgerald, then offered his hand to Nigel. "Aaron Fitzgerald, feel free to all me Aaron."

"Nigel Townsend, call me Nigel," said Nigel, shaking Aaron's hand.

Aaron glanced at Kate and said, "He the father?" Kate nodded, and Nigel blushed. Aarond seemed not to notice and went on with the appointment as if nothing were wrong. "Kathrine, how have you been feeling? Nauseous?" He sat her down on the exam table and picked up her chart.

"Very," she said sadly, pulling her feet up and lying down.

"Hm." He seemed surprised by this.

Aaron asked her the routine questions while preparing to do an ultra sound. Usually he wouldn't do one this early in the pregnancy, but in Kate's case, one never knew when she'd loose the baby, so it was best to get it over with sooner.

He began to preform the ultrasound, and stopped when he found the tiny heartbeat. "There she is," he murmured, going over the area several times.

After a few moments of examining the fetus, he clicked his tongue. "That's odd."

Nigel look at Kate who rolled her eyes. "Something is always 'odd'," she explained and Nigel's heart sank.

"Oh." Aaron looked up, surprised.

"No, no, no, Kathrine, see?" he turned to monitor so she could see the pulsing blob that was her baby.

"I don't see what's wrong," said Kate, examining the blob. Nigel hadn't gone to medical school, so he really didn't have any idea what he was looking at.

"That's what's odd!" said Aaron almost giddily, "I don't see anything odd at all!" Nigel stared at the screen blankly.

"What does that mean?" he asked in an almost robot-like tone, his accent almost indistinguishable because it was so stoic.

"It means," said Aaron, then paused. "I don't know."

"Meaning?" said Kate impatiently, "Am I going to miscarry or not?!"

"From this alone—" He motioned toward the screen with his free hand, "—I'd say no. With your medical history... it bumps it up to and 'I don't know'." Kate had a quick intake of breath.

"So..."

"That's a 'maybe'?" finished Nigel, looking from Kate to Aaron. Aaron nodded.

"It's a maybe."


	40. Chapter 40

_Final mostly-fluffy chapter, everyone! Yippee! Even if it took me five rewrites to make it sound half decent... it still might stink a bit... but I did my best... and there will be a sequel, so it's not like it's _really_ the end... _

**Chapter Forty: Celebration**

It was a week later when they finally released Woody from the hospital. There wasn't really anything wrong with him, they just wanted to observe him and make sure he was alright before letting him go home.

"Sullivan's B&G on me tonight," announced Nigel the first day Woody was back on the job. The gang were seated around the round table in the breakroom drinking coffee. "To celebrate." He glanced at Kate, who smiled weakly.

"I thought we were going to the Beef 'N' Brew," said Bug, sounding almost disapointed and taking a drink of his coffee.

"Sullivan's is always more fun," said Jordan.

"Why?"

"Because there's better booze?" suggested Nigel. Everyone laughed.

"Sullivan's it is," said Woody, expertly tossing his empty styrofoam cup in the trash bin near the door. "But it's on _me_, you hear me?" Nigel nodded.

"Whatever you say, mate."

XXX

"You ready to go?" Woody popped up behind Jordan, who was adjusting a microscope she was looking into.

"Yeah, hold on..." She looked up and offered the microscope to him. He put his eyes to it and took a look at the bullet. "Just formalities," she explained, "This bullet killed Albie Sampson, shot from officer Hamilton's gun. But we already knew that." The wrote it down quickly and pulled out the bullet and put it in an orange evidence bag. "Done."

"Let's go, then."

"Okay, where's Nigel?"

"He and Kate are meeting us there," he said, holding the door open for her. "Bug and Lily are too." They past Garret in the hallway. "Garret, hey, are you comin'?"

Garret held up a file and nodded. "I just have to put this away and I'll meet you there," he said, walking past. Woody grinned.

"If Walcot wants to come with us, feel free to invite her to come along," said Woody, putting a hand on the small of Jordan's back and gently nudging her toward reception. "We'll meet you there."

Jordan slid next to Nigel in a booth at the back of Sullivan's Bar and Grill. Woody sat down next to Kate, across from her. Bug was sitting on Kate's other side with Maddie in a booster beside him, and Lily on Nigel's other side.

"Renee couldn't make it," said Garret roughly, walking up to the group a minute later and glancing at Woody, "Couldn't find a sitter for Michael." He opted to pull up a chair to the front of the table rather than slide into the booth with the group. A waiter approached them.

"Ready to order drinks?" he inquired, and Woody nodded.

"A bottle of _Chatham Hill_for us," he said, motioning toward Jordan, who usually wouldn't want him ordering for her, but thought this was an exception because he had just gotten out of the hospital. That, and she did enjoy _Chatham Hill_.

"Two fingers of scotch, on the rocks," ordered Garret.

"Just a beer for me," said Bug and Nigel asked for the same.

"Apple martini," said Lily with a smile. The waitor looked at Kate.

"And you, miss?"

"Just a ginger ale." The waiter jotted it down and left to get them their drinks. Lily rolled her eyes at Kate.

"You really have to let loose a little, Kate," she said, "Sullivan's martinis are spectacular. I'm sure you'd love them." Kate shook her head.

"I would if I could, believe me," said Kate, glancing at Nigel, "But I'm not feeling very well, and alcohol makes it worse."

"It's your loss."

Maddie banged her fists down on the side of the booster seat. "Ugh!" she said, and Bug fished through his bag and offered her a soother, which she happily excepted.

"'Ugh' means 'soother'?" asked Nigel, looking around his friend at Maddie. Bug laughed.

"No, all she says is 'ugh', 'guh', 'dah' and 'grr'. I just guessed," he admitted. Putting a hand on her head and running his fingers over her fine, blondish hair.

Nigel chuckled as the waitor returned and handed each of them their drinks. Woody popped the cork of the champagne bottle and poured himself and Jordan a glass. Kate sipped her ginger ale and looked deep in thought.

"Penny for your thoughts," said Jordan, taking her glass from Woody and murmuring a 'thank you'. Kate looked up and shrugged.

"Just thinking how happy I am that Hoyt is okay," she said, trying not to sound sarcastic. And not succeeding.

"Oh, yeah _right_," said Bug, taking a gulp of his beer, "something's been up with you for a while." He glanced at Nigel. "And with him." Kate blinked a few times, then her eyes widened.

"You _know_!" she accused, pointing a finger at him. She turned her attention to Nigel. "You told him?!" Nigel shook his head.

"No, he figured it out."

"I read his blog," said Bug smugly, leaning back.

"You talk about me in your blog that freaks read?"

"Oh, don't be mean," said Lily crossly, "I'm sure some normal people read his blog, too."

"Some?" asked Nigel, looking appalled. "Most!"

"Wait, what _exactly _did Bug find out?" asked Jordan, putting down her glass and looking at Kate worriedly. "About...?" She was referring to Kate being pregnant, of course, versus just known that Nigel and Kate were seeing each other.

"I hope not," said Kate, "Bug, what, pray tell, did Nigel put on that blog of his?" Bug looked at Nigel, and back at Kate, almost as if asking permission. Nigel sipped his beer calmly, and Bug took that as a sign that he could talk.

"Just that he thought you smelled good," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "And that you made out at the hospital."

"So he doesn't know anything," said Jordan with relief, glaring at Nigel. "As long as _you_ didn't tell him." Nigel shook his head.

"Wouldn't dream of telling him without permission."

"You'd better not."

Woody seemed the only person surprised by the fact that Nigel and Kate were together. "You two are—?" He pointed from one to the other and back again in quick sucession. "Really?"

"Yeah," said Nigel, rubbing the back of his neck like Bug had done, almost embarressingly. Kate glared at him and took a drink from her ginger ale. Woody leaned back and put down his glass.

"Wow. Would never have guessed," he admitted, then looked around the table. "Was I the only one who didn't know?!"

"Bug told me!" defended Lily immediately.

"I just figured," said Garret quietly. He hadn't really been talking much lately. He'd been too lost in thought over his new-found son, and what he was going to do about it.

Woody looked toward Jordan for an explantion. "What, two of my best friends get together and you don't think I'm going to know about it from one or the other?"

"In other words, Nigel told you," said Woody, picking up his glass. Jordan chuckled.

"Nope. Kate did. Good guess, though."

While the adults were discussing Nigel and Kate's love lives, Maddie felt left out. She tried to put in her own additions to the conversation, a "Gah!" here or an "Ugh," there, but no one was listening to her.

Even her Daddy wasn't paying attention. "Gagaga ugh dah," she said conversationally, but he didn't even turn his head. "Dah."

He laughed at something her Mommy said, but didn't even look at her. "Ugh!" She banged her little fists down on the side of her booster seat. "Dah!" He put a hand on her head and messed up her hair, but wasn't looking at her. He was watching Aunt Kate say something.

"Dada!" she cried as loud as she could, and Bug jumped.

He whirled to look at her, and everyone at the table fell silent. "Did she just...?" asked Woody, looking at the five-month-old curiously. Maddie giggled. They were finally paying attention!

"Dada. Dadadadadadadadada!" she babbled happily, putting her arms out toward Bug. He picked her up out of her booster seat and held her in front of his cautiously. She stopped babbling and smiled.

Lily's smile was even bigger than her daughter's. "I think she just said her fisrt word." Bug nodded, still in awe of the tiny life seated in his lap. She giggled, loving being the centre of attention.

Woody smiled, watching Bug hold his daughter like she was made of something more precious and breakable than flesh and bone. It was sweet. He wanted that. That connection.

He looked across the table at Jordan, who was smiling absently at father and daughter like he had been a moment before. She looked beautiful, like always. Now was a good a time ass any, he supposed. He drank down the last of the champagne in his glass, and got up.

He walked around Garret, and looked down at Jordan, seated in the booth beside Nigel. She felt him watching her and looked up at him, curious.

"Jo, can I ask you a question?" She made a face.

"Of course." Nigel gave Woody the thumbs-up sign from behind Jordan, and Woody grinned, dimples exposed.

"Jordan Cavanaugh, would you do me the honour..." He got down on one knee and pulled the ring box out of his pocket. "Of being my wife?"

_**To be continued...**_


	41. Final Author's Note

**Final Author's Note**

**Thank Yous:  
**First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed "_Fatherhood_". So, thank you to Amelia Bianca Black, LegaspiWeaver, Canadian Belle, xOlly, Veronica, Pandorea, tracyh, Mexwojo, Jessi, JynxGirl and Velms. Secondly, I'd like to thank everyone who favourited "_Fatherhood_". So, thank you to Canadian Belle, HairyEyeBall, LegaspiWeaver, stokesandmesserluver, xx Terpsichore xx, and Spuffyshipper. Thirdly, I'd like to thank everyone who put "_Fatherhood_" on their alert lists. So, thank you to Amelia Bianca Black, Canadian Belle, LegaspiWeaver, aeliani, lostandconfused4eva, rosemarie314, somethinksfishy, stokesandmesserluver, renn xo, tracyh, Forever-Jinxed-13, Iseria, and sea2209. Fourthly (fourth of all?) I'd like to thank all of my other consistent readers.

I'd also like to thank Belle, for helping me go over most of my ideas; Amelia, for giving me a plot bunny or two; Erin, for translating some stuff for me; and Fanfiction(dot)net for being here so I could post it. :)

**Contractions:**  
Some of you may think that Maddie, being five months and one week old by the end of my story (according to my math, which I'm pretty sure is accurate) is too young to be saying "Dada". My first word, which also happens to be "Dada" (or, rather, "Dadadadadadadadadada") was said by me on August ninth, 1995. Five months, three days after my birth. I asked my mom. It's normal, and all too possible, believe me.

Jordan Cavanaugh was named Jordan _Marie _Cavanaugh by me, because "Marie" is one of my great-grandmother's names who passed recently. My middle name happens to be "Maria", but I gave her "Marie" because (to me) it sounds better. You may not agree. I don't care.

**About the Cliff-Hanger Ending:  
**Bwa ha ha! I bet you all hate me because I didn't tell you her answer. If you really must know what she says before I get the sequel started, PM me and I'll tell you. If you MUST know.

**The Sequel:  
**As of this morning, I have decided on the title "_Betrayal, Betrothal and Bothersome Brothers_". Nice ring to it, no?

Things you should know before reading it:  
_Garret is involved in an FBI investigation which concerns "a family member of Jordan Cavanaugh" and drowning victims in the Charles' River. hint hint  
Lily has a brother named Andy Lebowski.  
Calvin Hoyt is no longer underground now that Albie Sampson is dead. He's in Boston, but hasn't yet met with Jordan.  
Abby doesn't yet know about Michael being Garret's son. No one else knows, either.  
Jeffrey is seeing a woman named Linda Clark._


End file.
